The End Of The Line
by Ael L. Bolt
Summary: The Johto League is over, and Ashtachi are headed back to Pallet Town. But when Team Rocket attacks with deadly force, a new Pokemon emerges, and the very fate of the world is at stake again, what can they do? Rated PG for violence and death cd.
1. Return To Pallet Town

Disclaimer: I dun own Pokémon, Nintendo does. I wish I did, because about now I'd be in the big money on these fics I write. This may be the first, but it certainly isn't the last.  
  
A note: this is a fan-FICTION. Almost everything in this story is purely fictional, including the aspects of the Johto League. I do not know what the results of the Johto competition are, so do not rely on any of those "facts" as the truth. Most of this story was brought on by my own wild imagination, and the help of some careful observations about the TV show. I'll leave you to figure out what I mean... ;)  
  
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Part One: Return to Pallet Town  
Chapter One  
It was a sunny day in Pallet Town. Professor Oak was in his lab, researching his Pokémon with the help of Tracey Sketchit. Mrs. Ketchum was in her garden, with her Mr. Mime helping out. And Ash was returning home from competing in the Johto League.  
  
After his departure from Pallet nearly a year ago, Ash Ketchum and his friends had traveled through the land of Johto, collected some new Pokémon, and competed in the Johto League. Ash had gotten in the top five Johto trainers, but he didn't make it to the top as usual.  
  
Ash flew into his hometown on the back of his Charizard. Misty and Brock followed on the ground, riding two of Ash's Tauros.  
  
Ash landed in Oak's "backyard" as he called it. It was actually an entire field that made up only about a tenth of Oak's research area. Misty and Brock came up behind him, and got off the bull Pokémon. The two Tauros, freed of their riders, joined the rest of their herd. As for Charizard, it went back into its Pokéball.  
  
Not surprisingly, Tracey was the very first person they saw. He was watching them from Oak's back door, a strange look on his face.  
  
"Heya Tracey!" Ash called. "Long time no see!"  
  
Tracey laughed. "Ash, it's only been a year."  
  
"How's everything been going?" Misty asked as she walked up behind Ash. She grinned. "Have you gotten over your Oak-a-phobia?"  
  
Tracey looked a little embarrassed. His first encounter with Professor Oak hadn't gone as planned, considering how nervous he was. He used to think of the Pokémon Professor as being some really powerful, famous person that he'd always wanted to meet.  
  
Tracey decided to ignore the question. No one brought it up again. "Well, Oak and I have been really busy sorting all your new Pokémon," he said instead.  
  
Ash grinned. He had been doing a lot better in the catching area of training than he had been two years ago, when he had first started training. He had caught nearly eighty Pokémon, all previously unknown. Those eighty included a Cyndaquil, Chikorita, Totodile, Murkrow, Heracross, Houndour, Stantler, Donphan, and many others.  
  
"How many new Pokémon did Gary catch?" Ash asked, both worried that he might be behind again and hopeful he might be ahead this time.  
  
Tracey shrugged. "About the same. Why don't you ask him?"  
  
Ash had no time to even think about that before his rival appeared in the doorway. "Gary!" Ash yelped in shock.  
  
Gary Oak was standing next to Tracey, still the same as ever. But there was something...different about him that set him apart from any other trainer. He seemed to be a lot nicer than he had been before the Orange League, but still had a bit of arrogance thrown into his personality. He had a strange, older look to his face which made sense because it had been most of a year since they'd seen him.  
  
It also could have been the fact that he was now a full eight inches taller than Ash. And that wasn't because of his hairstyle.  
  
Gary stared at Ash, who was glaring back with a look that could peel paint off a car. Normally around this time Gary would be making one of his smartmouth remarks, but he didn't say anything.  
  
"That's it," Ash snarled after a long moment, taking out a Pokéball. "You've beaten me too many times to let me pass this one. Gary, I challenge you to a Pokémon battle right now!"  
  
Misty and Brock both looked horrified. Tracey tried to object too. "Ash, don't you remember last time you battled?" he began to say, but a glare from Ash prompted him to shut up.  
  
Gary calmly shrugged, and took out a Pokéball of his own. "All right," he said. Even his voice sounded different. "Since you're the challenger, you set the rules."  
  
"Three on three," Ash said instantly. "Whoever wins is Pallet Town's top trainer. Whoever loses is...well, the loser."  
  
Gary nodded silently, strange considering all the times he'd acted before. He opened the Pokéball and sent out his favorite Pokémon, Eevee.  
  
Ash felt a bit nervous. Last time he had gone up against Eevee, Pikachu had gotten badly beaten too easily. But since then, he had new Pokémon with him that might be able to take down an Eevee more easily than a Pikachu.  
  
"All right, Eevee's a Normal Type. What's good against that? Isn't it Fighting?" Ash thought to himself. His eyes lit up, and he threw a Pokéball. "Go, Heracross!" he called.  
  
The Fighting/Bug type Pokémon came out and faced Eevee. Both were fairly high in level, enough to make it a fair match. Fighting was a fairly good Pokémon type to use against a Normal type, the only one Ash knew of.  
  
Gary gave him a skeptical look, but said nothing to the other trainer who seemed to hate him so much. Instead he commanded his Eevee, "Eevee, use your Quick Attack."  
  
Eevee bolted at Heracross. Before the startled bug could react, it was knocked over by the brown blur that had placed itself squarely in the blue insect's midsection.  
  
"Heracross, use your Horn Attack!" Ash yelled.  
  
Heracross managed to get its horn under Eevee and throw it about fifty feet in about three seconds, too fast for Eevee to react.  
  
Or so Ash thought.  
  
A whoosh and a brown blur, and Eevee was suddenly gone again. It reappeared in front of Gary in its battle stance.  
  
At any other time in their earlier travels, Gary would be bragging his head off at this point. But he was strangely silent, only telling Eevee what attacks to use and sometimes not even then.  
  
As it was with the next attack. Eevee slammed its head into Heracross' face in a Skull Bash attack that sent the blue bug flying. It hit the ground, out cold.  
  
Ash stared in shock as he called back his Heracross. He just couldn't understand why it didn't work...  
  
"Ash, use something stronger!" Tracey called, not very helpfully, from the sidelines.  
  
"Gee, really?" was the first thought that came to Ash's mind. He sighed. "Now, what one should I use..." he muttered to himself.  
  
The next Pokémon chose itself as it blazed out of the Pokéball on its own command. Chikorita stood facing Gary and his Eevee, ready to defend her master against his rival.  
  
"Chikorita!" Ash scolded her. "I didn't tell you to come out!"  
  
Chikorita ignored him. Ash sighed. Chikorita would obey him in battle, but once it got down to whether she liked him or not the reading was off the scale. Brock had said once that Chikorita had a crush on him, and even though that sounded ridiculous it was the best explanation they had for Chikorita's strange behavior.  
  
Again, Gary should have been saying something arrogant about Chikorita and how she wouldn't exactly obey, but he was still quiet. Only a nod to his Eevee, and a quick command.  
  
"Eevee, Double Team."  
  
Chikorita was surrounded by twenty Eevees, all of which looked exactly alike. Chikorita looked around, very confused. "Chiko?" she said.  
  
Ash got a sudden inspiration. "Chikorita, use your Sweet Scent!"  
  
Chikorita released the nice-smelling powder from the leaf on her head. It passed over one Eevee without getting any reaction. And the next. And the next.  
  
The seventh one down swayed, and shook its head in an attempt to clear it. The other Eevees disappeared, the illusions broken.  
  
"Chikorita, get that Eevee with your Vine whip!"Ash yelled, hoping he would win.  
  
Chikorita lashed out at Eevee and sent it flying. It landed on its feet in front of its trainer, fur bristling.  
  
Suddenly, Gary held up Eevee's Pokéball. "Eevee return."  
  
"What was that for?" Misty wondered.  
  
"I like to give all my Pokémon a chance to fight," Gary explained as he took out another Pokéball. "Eevee is one of my strongest, so it doesn't need as much battle experience as some of my others."  
  
He threw another Pokéball. Out came a Houndoom, a fire dog Pokémon.  
  
As usual, Ash flipped out "Dexter," his Pokédex. He wanted to see the entry for this Johto Pokémon. He had caught the unevolved form of this Pokémon, Houndour. But he hadn't seen the fully evolved one.  
  
He listened to Dexter talk about Houndoom, then looked a little panicked. Chikorita was a grass type, which is weak to fire.  
  
"Chikorita, return!" Ash said, calling Chikorita back into her Pokéball. She gave him a dirty look as she was sucked in by the beam of red light, clearly not pleased with the fact that he was calling her back.  
  
Ash considered the different Pokémon he had with him. He had Heracross, Chikorita, Pikachu, Charizard, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle. He chose Squirtle, figuring that water was going to have the major advantage against Gary's Houndoom.  
  
"Squirtle, Hydro Pump!" Ash called to his turtle Pokémon.  
  
Squirtle withdrew into its shell and began spinning, spraying water all over everything. Within minutes, everything in the area was soaked except for Gary. No one knew how he managed it, but he had avoided the Hydro Pump without even moving.  
  
"This guy is impossible to beat!" Ash thought, frightened. "What's with him? He's...weird. More than usual..."  
  
Gary smiled slightly, as if he knew exactly what Ash was thinking. Then he said to his nearly-dry Pokémon, "Houndoom, Take Down."  
  
"DOOM!" it howled, and charged at Squirtle. At the last instant it turned its head aside and thrust its left shoulder forward, right into Squirtle's hard shell.  
  
The impact sent Squirtle flying, but the turtle Pokémon was mostly okay because of its shell.  
  
"Squirtle, use your Bubblebeam!" Ash ordered.  
  
Squirtle spat a stream of bubbles at Houndoom. It countered with an Ember, making the water evaporate two inches in front of its face.  
  
"Houndoom, return!" Gary said, calling back his Pokémon.  
  
Ash glared at his rival. "What is with this guy?" he thought again. "He's trying to confuse me or something! I wonder what his last Pokémon is..."  
  
Gary smiled more noticeable this time, a bit of his old self showing through. "Well Ash, it's been a nice match but I'm afraid it must end now." He took out his third and final Pokéball and threw it. "Go Mew!"  
  
  
Chapter Two  
"A Mew?!" Brock yelled, nearly deafening all those around him. "WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALL POKÉMON IS GARY DOING WITH A MEW?!"  
  
Luckily for Ash, he was about twenty feet away from Brock when he yelled that. Gary was even further away. Unfortunately for Misty and Tracey, they were standing right next to Brock.  
  
"What's a Mew?" Ash wondered. He looked at it. Something about it was vaguely familiar to him, so he reached in his pocket and took out his Pokédex. He pointed it at the pink catlike Pokémon hovering in front of him.  
  
"Ding! Mew. A psychic Pokémon. Mew is the most powerful Pokémon known and is believed to be extinct," Dexter said. "However, Mews have been sighted on rare occasions though they are believed to be a mirage."  
  
Ash felt like he'd been Thundershocked by a Zapdos. "That's what it was!" he thought. "Gary caught a Mew, so he knows he'll win! That one guy at the Saffron Gym said you can't control a psychic Pokémon without a direct link to its mind, and so Gary has ALL OF MEW'S POWERS!"  
  
Gary smiled. "Got it in one," his voice said in Ash's mind.  
  
Ash swallowed hard. "I am so dead," he thought.  
  
Mew's eyes glowed hot pink, and Squirtle was lifted up into the air. "Squirtle!" the turtle screamed, thrashing helplessly in the air.  
  
Mew psychically threw Squirtle across the yard. The turtle Pokémon hit the wall of Oak's lab, cracking the concrete.  
  
"Squirtle, no!" Ash yelled in panic. If Squirtle went down, he was toast for sure.  
  
He was saved by the arrival of two other people and a talking Pokémon.  
  
"Prepare for trouble!"  
  
"Make it double!"  
  
"No, not now," Ash whined. "Why did it have to be them?"  
  
Gary looked up at Team Rocket, who were floating overhead in their Meowth balloon. Then he shrugged, as if he didn't care that they were there at all.  
  
Even from as far away as they were, the trainers on the ground heard a scream of "THAT TWERP'S GOT A MEW!"  
  
"Calm down, Jessie! Meowth, what's wrong with her?"  
  
Jessie ignored James and held up a remote. "All right you twerps," she hissed. "We've set a bomb in Oak's lab and this remote will activate it. Hand over Pikachu and the Mew and we won't set it off."  
  
"No way!" Ash yelled. Although he was very used to the three pinheads that followed him to everywhere on the face of the Earth, he still didn't understand why they wanted Pikachu so much. Why couldn't they go catch their own? "You aren't getting Pikachu!"  
  
Gary's eyes were suddenly icy as he stared at Ash. "You would rather let all of us die, you would rather kill everyone, you would rather let them KILL MY FAMILY than turn over your Pikachu?!" he exclaimed angrily.  
  
Ash was taken aback, shocked speechless at Gary's sudden outrage. This was the first time the trainer had seen his rival so furious. "I...I..." he stammered.  
  
Jessie's finger hovered over the red button. "You have ten seconds to hand over that Mew and Pikachu," she growled. "Then you say good-bye."  
  
Gary looked over at Mew. "Mew? Go."  
  
Now it was Ash's turn to be angry. Gary was turning over a Mew to Team Rocket! Imagine how powerful they would be with a Mew on their team! And what was Jessie so upset about anyway?  
  
"Eight...seven...six..." Jessie counted the seconds.  
  
Ash opened his mouth to say something, but Gary shot him a poisonous glare. A "don't say anything or I'll kill you" look. Ash shut his mouth, confused. What was Gary up to?  
  
"Five...four..." Jessie continued.  
  
Halfway through its ascent to Team Rocket, the Mew whirled around and streaked for the lab. It flashed bright pink, and disappeared.  
  
And suddenly, all the sounds of Pokémon were gone. All the Pokémon in Oak's lab and backyard were just...gone. The Mew had Teleported them all out of danger!  
  
"Three...two..." Jessie kept going doggedly, not noticing that the Mew was gone.  
  
"GET DOWN!" Gary's voice roared in their minds.  
  
Everyone hit the dirt as Jessie reached one, and hit the red button. And with a white flash the trainers could see with their eyes closed, the Pallet Town laboratory blew up.  
  
Ash felt himself get thrown through the air by the force of the blast, and he wound up landing nearly a hundred feet away in what was left of a barn. The shockwave knocked him out almost instantly, and maybe in some way that made him lucky so he didn't feel anything when he crashed through the roof.  
  
  
Chapter Three  
Brock woke up, staring up into the night sky. He wondered what he was doing there. He wondered what was going on.  
  
"The bomb!" he yelled, memory coming back abruptly.  
  
He sat up, looking around at the scene of destruction. What he saw shocked him right down to the core.  
  
The entire town of Pallet had been almost completely devastated in the blast. It looked almost like a tornado had gone through and ripped up everything, torn it to pieces, then put it all back. He could make out where things used to be, where they SHOULD have been, but weren't. There was pretty much nothing left of Ash's hometown.  
  
Right then, Brock was sitting in the middle of what should have been Ash's driveway. There was absolutely nothing there to hint at what it had been, but Brock knew.  
  
"Ash!" Brock remembered suddenly, accidentally saying it out loud. "What happened to him? What happened to everyone else? Is anyone else still alive?"  
  
"I am," Tracey said. He was standing behind Brock and looked mostly okay, except that he was a bit beat up. One of his arms seemed to be hurt, maybe broken. That was the extent of his injuries.  
  
Brock stood up and faced the young Pokémon Watcher. Other than a few bruises, the breeder-wannabe was fine. "Have you found anyone else yet?" he asked Tracey.  
  
Tracey shook his head. "No. I just woke up before you did. Brock, we've both been out cold for over six hours. Anyone who might have been here could have left already."  
  
"Not everyone," another voice said from the side of the two trainers.  
  
Gary stepped into the moonlight. He had obviously run face-first into a shrapnel storm. His face was cut and bleeding in a dozen places, and some of the flying razors had unevenly trimmed his hair. "There's not much of anyone left, though," he said. "We were the lucky ones."  
  
"What do you mean, LUCKY? We were nearly KILLED in that stupid explosion!" Brock yelled.  
  
Gary stared back, a strange look on his face. He made a "follow me" gesture with his hand, and then began to walk towards the remainder of his own house.  
  
Once the three trainers arrived in front of the rubble that had been Gary's place, Ash's rival stopped. So did Tracey and Brock.  
  
Because lying under the wreckage, silent and unmoving, was Misty.  
  
"Is she...?" Tracey began.  
  
Gary nodded. "Dead."  
  
  
Chapter Four  
About a half an hour after the trio found Misty, they located Pikachu. The electric mouse had terribly burned fur, but seemed to feel better than any of the humans.  
  
The foursome worked until dawn, searching what was left of Pallet Town for more survivors. They managed to find Mrs. Ketchum, a Mr. Mime, and about ten other people. They even found Team Rocket, although Jessie had died in her self-triggered explosion. But the one person that they did not find was Ash.  
  
Mrs. Ketchum refused to believe that Ash was dead, but most of his friends accepted it after a few hours. Misty had been killed, hundreds of people living in town had been killed, so it was possible that Ash could be dead.  
  
Morning found the small group gathered together around a fire made of some building wreckage, talking about people who hadn't been found. Most everybody knew someone who hadn't been accounted for yet, and of course everyone knew Ash.  
  
"Dat poor twerp," Meowth said sadly from where he sat next to Gary. "We was always tryin' to snatch his Pikachu for da Boss without thinkin' somethin' like DIS coulda happened. We messed up alot and did some stupid t'ings, but we never t'ought dat somebody might get hurt like dis."  
  
Gary looked down at the Meowth sitting next to him, and the trainer put a hand on the cat's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault," he said. "I'm sure your boss never thought about something like this either."  
  
"Oh, really?" James spoke up from Meowth's other side. All morning long, the Rocket had been mourning for his Jessie and hadn't said much to anyone else. "That wasn't what we were thinking when his 'ultimate Pokémon' destroyed his headquarters."  
  
Gary looked only slightly puzzled. "You mean his Mewtwo?" he asked.  
  
James and Meowth gasped, and looked over at the trainer who had been Ash's rival. "What...did...you...say?" James said slowly.  
  
"How did ya know about da Boss' Mewtwo?" Meowth asked Gary, moving away from him.  
  
Gary shook his head as if to clear it. "Sorry, that Mew made me partially psychic," he offered as if in an excuse. "That Mew made friends with Mewtwo until I caught it..."  
  
From the other side of the fire, Tracey shook his head wonderingly. Just a day before those three had been their major enemies...AND NOW THEY WERE FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER! "Oh, well. Strange circumstances call for strange results," Tracey thought.  
  
"And boy are these strange results," Gary quipped in Tracey's head.  
  
"What are you talking to me for?" Tracey thought in his general direction. "I don't know you as well as Brock does, go talk to him."  
  
"I can't," Gary answered, his mental voice a bit strange. "He's too depressed to even listen to me."  
  
Tracey noticed his "voice" waver a little bit. "What is it?" he thought hard at the trainer across the fire. "What's up with you?"  
  
"I don't know," he answered, then spoke out loud. "It's kind of strange that no one's come to investigate the explosion yet," he said. "You'd think something like that would wake up people from here to Cinnabar. But not so much as a sound from any nearby city. They aren't even touched by that bomb's detonation, and it was definitely forceful enough to have woken up at least a few Officer Jennys who would come out on motorcycles to see what happened."  
  
Brock looked up from his silent thoughts at that. "You're right," he said. "There hasn't been anything happening since about the time Jessie set off the bomb."  
  
Pikachu cocked its head. "Pika pika, chu pi?" it asked. "Chu pikachu pika pika."  
  
Everyone looked at Meowth for a translation. Meowth shrugged and said, "Da Pikachu says all da wild Pokémon are gone too, and it t'inks dat maybe dey're preventin' da police from comin' to Pallet."  
  
Everyone accepted that as being the most likely reason why no one had come to investigate. But it was for a very different reason that was also very much the same.  
  
  
Chapter Five  
Ash was dragged back to consciousness a few hours after the bomb had gone off. The entire upper half of his body hurt, but everything below his waist was just plain numb. He was halfway buried in the remains of the Rapidash barn that had been in Oak's backyard before the blast.  
  
He could hear distant voices speaking. "Spread out," someone said. "See if you can find anyone still alive."  
  
"Yes sir, Boss!" a chorus of other voices said.  
  
Ash could hear people walking towards and away from him. They seemed to be looking for someone.  
  
The trainer tried to call out for help while they were still near him, but no sound came out. He couldn't move out from under the wreckage, and he couldn't say anything.  
  
But someone found him. A board was lifted away from Ash by a blurry figure in a black uniform. Whoever it was stopped and gasped.  
  
"Boss!" the figure yelled, his voice going shrill. "BOSS!"  
  
Ash looked up at the dark silhouette approaching. Then he passed out.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The young trainer woke up the next day, lying on a hospital bed. His head was bandaged, and the burns on his arms and face had been treated. His lower body was still with no feeling, but the rest of him no longer hurt as much.  
  
"Good morning, kid," a voice said. A man with black hair and dark eyes moved into Ash's view. "Remember me?"  
  
"How could I forget?" Ash answered, looking a little pale. And it wasn't because of how badly he had been hurt. It was because he did indeed recognize the visitor. "Hi, Dad."  
  
Ash's father smiled. "Yes, son. Long time no see."  
  
"Very long time," Ash agreed. "Almost seven years now, isn't it?"  
  
"Hey, you've got a good memory, kid," Ash's father said. "Too bad I can't say that for the rest of you."  
  
Ash smiled weakly. "A blast like that tends to do things like that to me. Where are we?"  
  
"We're in the Saffron City hospital," Ash's father replied. "That blast knocked down most of the other ones all around Pallet Town. Saffron was the closest. We had to airlift you out of there, kid."  
  
"What about the others?"  
  
Ash's father looked confused. "What others?"  
  
"You mean you didn't find them?"  
  
"We only found you and one other person, but she's dead-"  
  
"She? Who was it, Dad?"  
  
Ash's father closed his eyes, trying to remember what the girl had looked like. "She was about your age, maybe a little older. She had orange-red hair and we found six Pokéballs near her along with a Togepi."  
  
Ash's mouth opened in a silent scream. "No. Not Misty," he thought desperately. "She CAN'T be dead! She just CAN'T!"  
  
"Did you know her?" Ash's father asked, noticing the look on Ash's face.  
  
Ash nodded, still in shock and denial. "She...her name was Misty. She was...she was my...my girlfriend." He didn't see the point of denying it anymore. If Misty was dead, then who would make fun of him liking her anymore?  
  
His dad looked at him strangely. He began to say something, then his cellphone rang.  
  
"Excuse me for a moment," Ash's father said as he stood. He reached into his jacket and pulled out the squealing telephone as he walked out of the room.  
  
Ash sighed and leaned his head back on the pillow. Misty was dead. No one else had been found. What if he was the only survivor? What if all the others had died in the explosion? Was anyone still alive after that blast?  
  
"Ash, you're alive!" Gary's voice exclaimed in Ash's head.  
  
Ash jerked his head back, slamming it into the wall. Ouch. "Gary?" he thought cautiously towards where he thought the voice had come from. "Gary, where are you? Who's with you?"  
  
"I'm still in Pallet Town...or what's left of it," Gary said in his mind. "Most everybody died, but your mom, Tracey, Brock, Pikachu and I all survived along with a few other lucky people." He became more serious. "I guess you know about Misty then, huh?"  
  
Ash was trying hard not to cry, but it didn't work. He began bawling like a baby. "Misty's...gone!" he sobbed.  
  
"Easy there, Ash," Gary's reassuring voice said. "There's nothing you could have done."  
  
"Yes there is! I could have given Pikachu over to Jessie, and then she wouldn't have set off the bomb!" Ash cried. "Then she'd still be alive, if not for Team Rocket!"  
  
"Jessie died too, Ash," Gary added. "James and Meowth are here with us, and they didn't have any say in the matter. The explosion was all Jessie's doing, and she's dead now."  
  
Ash barely heard him as he kept sobbing. "Misty..."  
  
"Forget Misty for a minute!" Gary yelled suddenly. "I'm about to lose contact. Tell someone, ANYONE, I don't care who, just tell someone to get out to what's left of Pallet Town and send help! We've got hurt people here, and no way to get them out. You have to tell someone now, or-"  
  
Gary's voice disappeared suddenly. Ash froze. "Gary? GARY?!"  
  
"What? What's wrong?" Ash father yelled, running into the room.  
  
Ash hadn't realized that he had spoken aloud. "Get someone out to Pallet Town," he barely managed to stammer out. "There's more people alive down there! Including Mom!"  
  
Ash's dad went white. "You...you mean Delia?"  
  
Ash knew his mother's first name, but he rarely thought of it. Hearing his dad say it was like, well...it was as if he was different than before.  
  
"Mom," he confirmed.  
  
"By the Mew!" Ash's dad suddenly cursed, whipping out his phone again and dialing up some number. "Get me the police, now!" he barked into the receiver. There was a short pause. "Officer Jenny? Do you have any idea who I am? I am the father of Ash Ketchum and the boss of a vast organization more powerful than any other! I have my son here in front of me and he's just received a telepathic message from Gary Oak...he says there are more survivors in Pallet Town and to go rescue them!"  
  
Even from across the room, Ash could hear Jenny roar, "WHAT?! And we missed them completely our first time around? I'm on my way!"  
  
Ash closed his eyes as he heard his father speaking about his "vast organization." That was the reason his father had left home, and it was also the reason Ash had been a bit frightened when he had first walked into the room. He had only begun to guess at his father's real job a few months earlier, but his short telephone conversation had confirmed it in his father's own words.  
  
His father's full name was Giovanni Ketchum, head of Team Rocket.  
  
  
Chapter Six  
Ash was released from the Saffron City hospital three days before Misty's funeral. Due to a strange and unexplained injury, he was paralyzed from the waist down and had to ride in a wheelchair. He would never walk again. But he didn't care, as long as he got to see his girlfriend one more time.  
  
The young trainer held his Pokéballs in his hands, staring at them. There were twelve that he was holding. Half were his. The other half were Misty's.  
  
Staryu, Starmie, Goldeen, Poliwag, Psyduck, and Horsea. Togepi had been killed with its mistress, but the rest had asked to become Ash's Pokémon. They still missed the fire-haired trainer who would never come back, but wanted to continue with her boyfriend at least.  
  
The other six were Chikorita, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Heracross, and Pidgeot. Pikachu no longer lived in its Pokéball, so Ash could actually legally have seven Pokémon at once. Those seven were the closest to Misty than any of the other Pokémon Ash had ever captured, aside from Butterfree. Those seven had asked to come along for the ceremony.  
  
It wasn't completely for Misty, the ceremony was to honor all those lost in the Bombing of Pallet Town, as it was known now. But for Ash, Misty had been the biggest loss in his life, even worse than all the others put together.  
  
Ash had parked his wheelchair in the back, where no one could see him cry like a baby. Tracey stood on his left, his arm still in the sling. Brock was on his right, and Gary next to him. Ash's mom and dad were behind him, watching over the depressed young trainer.  
  
"We are gathered here today to honor many citizens of Pallet Town who were killed in this tragic event," Professor Oak had began. The Pokémon Professor had been Teleported out with the Pokémon before the bomb went off, so he had been unharmed. "There was no warning for most, and no escape for anyone caught in the path of the blast. But the same was true of the bomb's creator, Jessie of Team Rocket, who has departed from this world alongside her many victims."  
  
He motioned to Gary, who stepped forward with a list of names. He began to read the list. "Jessie Musashi of Sunnytown, killed while attempting to follow in her mother's footsteps in trying to capture a Mew and paying the ultimate price for it. May she and Myamoto meet again."  
  
Ash was surprised when he heard that. Myamoto, Jessie's mother, had been killed in a rock slide while on a journey to discover a Mew for the "Boss." Ash had just now heard about it, and the new information shed light on why she wanted the Mew so much. She was following her mother's exact path to downfall.  
  
Gary continued. "Falkner Hayato, Violet City Gym Leader. Killed while flying overhead on the back of his Pidgeot."  
  
He hesitated, then went on. "A nameless Mew belonging to myself, who was lost when trying to save us. It managed to save many lives, yet failed to protect the rest."  
  
Gary went on to read through the list, naming every single person who had been killed. Most of them were citizens of Pallet Town, a few were Pokémon, and the Johto Gym Leader.  
  
Gary reached the last name on the list. He looked over at Ash, who sadly nodded for him to go ahead. "Misty Kasumi Waterflower of Cerulean City," Gary said. "Killed in an attempt to protect her Pokémon and her boyfriend, Ash Ketchum. May she rest in peace."  
  
Ash released all of Misty's Pokémon, and then his own. The thirteen Pokémon stood at attention in silent respect for the brave little red-head who had been their friend.  
  
"Good-bye, Misty," Ash whispered.  
  
---  
  
Yes, I'm stopping here. Aren't I evil? *grins* Mwahahahaaaa! Well, that's all for now, please R&R!  



	2. Back On The Road

Part Two: Back On The Road  
Chapter One  
Ash stared out the window of his new house in Viridian City. It was a lot bigger than his old one and had a much better view, but his mind wasn't on that. He was still sad about losing Misty and Pikachu. The electric mouse had died a few weeks after the accident, due to internal injuries that no one knew it had until it was too late.  
  
"Poor kid," Giovanni Ketchum said quietly as he watched his son, who didn't know he was being watched. "Losing his girlfriend really broke him up, didn't it?"  
  
"You know, they never admitted how close they actually were," Delia Ketchum said to the tall Rocket boss beside her. "They always had this hate act going. Misty actually said that the reason she was following him was to get a new bike to replace one he destroyed, but we all knew it was a cover story."  
  
Giovanni nodded. "It's not that unusual for them to have denied it like that," he said. "But usually they give up after a while. Poor kid never got the chance to get that far, and now look what's happened to him."  
  
Ash heard someone walking up behind him. The young trainer looked over his shoulder and saw Tracey. "Oh. Hi," he muttered.  
  
"You really miss her, don't you?" the Pokémon Watcher asked gently.  
  
Ash put his face in his hands. "Yeah. Why did it have to be her?"  
  
"No one will ever know," Tracey said. "And you know she won't return, not after this."  
  
"I know." When Ash moved his hands away from his face, his expression was one of extreme despair. "Tracey, go away." When the Pokémon Watcher began to object, then Ash said a little softer, "Please. Just leave me alone."  
  
Tracey slowly walked out the door, shaking his head. Ash had definitely changed. Instead of being the bright and energetic trainer he had known, instead there was a listless kid crying over his dead girlfriend and Pikachu. He was probably wishing that either he had died with them or he hadn't been permanently damaged as he had been.  
  
It had been six whole months. That short conversation Tracey had just had with the depressed trainer was the most Ash had spoken since Misty's funeral. It was almost like Ash's entire outlook on life had been destroyed...  
  
Oh, it'll return, a voice said in Tracey's head.  
  
The Pokémon Watcher spun around, but there was no one there. He frowned and thought hard. It had sounded more telepathic than spoken...and it wasn't Gary. But then who...?  
  
What, don't you recognize me?   
  
"No, I don't," he said cautiously. Then, a bit more silly, "May I ask who's calling?"  
  
Sure you can ask, but I'm not gonna answer.   
  
Behind the Pokémon Watcher, Ash's face had gone white. He stared at where the voice seemed to be coming from, eyes wild with fear and hope. "Is it...could it...could it really be her?" he wondered.  
  
Giovanni and Delia hadn't heard the voice. It was only Tracey and Ash who could hear a gentle female voice, speaking only in their heads.  
  
"It's her," Ash got out. Then he fainted from the shock.  
  
  
Chapter Two  
When Ash woke up again, he wasn't in his house. He couldn't see his mom or dad anywhere around the area.  
  
Ash looked around. He seemed to be on a beach, with white sand and blue waves. The breeze whipped through his spiky black hair and ruffled his worn blue jacket.  
  
And then the trainer realized he was standing.  
  
"What the heck?" Ash pondered out loud, taking a step forward. He was shocked and amazed that he actually COULD walk again. Not even any pain! It was a miracle!  
  
"Or close to one, anyway," the voice said again. This time, it seemed to be outside of Ash's head. In fact, it was coming from right behind him.  
  
Ash spun around with his old speed. Standing behind him was a young red-headed girl. She wore a yellow shirt and jean shorts, and her orange-red hair was drawn back into a side ponytail. She glowed a slight blue, and was a bit transparent.  
  
"I wasn't imagining things," Ash said. "It really IS you."  
  
The girl nodded. "Yes, Ash. It's really me, or my spirit anyway. My soul, whatever you want to call it."  
  
"Misty, I've missed you..." Ash's voice broke, and he dropped to his knees on the sand. Huge sobs racked his body. "I'm so sorry!" he sobbed. "I could've done something, could've stopped her..."  
  
Misty waited until Ash had calmed down a little, then put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, Ash. It wasn't your fault. And if it's anybody's fault, it's Jessie's. She should have known the bomb was stronger than what she set it for. She didn't even get the chance to blast off! For that, she was sent to...to the Other Place than where I went." She smiled, amused, as she pulled him to his feet.  
  
"She'll probably wind up running the place," Ash said sarcastically as he stood up (still wondering how he actually COULD). "If you've been a spirit ever since the accident, how come you've been hidden? How come you didn't show yourself? I've missed you, way too much for way too long."  
  
"She was held to the limits of the newly killed spirits, evidently," another person said as he strode across the sand. It was Tracey, sketchpad and all. Come to think of it, Ash noticed that the Pokémon Watcher had been watching THEM instead, and had even drawn a fairly good picture of the two of them.  
  
Ash blushed and stepped back from Misty. The Pokémon Watcher had seen the whole thing.  
  
If Tracey noticed Ash's expression, he said nothing. Instead he went on to explain. "Spirits can only come back if someone's missed them long enough," he said. "Your depression is what helped Misty's spirit get a good lock on your mind and on this place."  
  
"And where exactly IS this place?" Ash asked, waving a hand at the beach. "We're not anywhere that I know of."  
  
"Uh...we aren't exactly HERE," Tracey said. "This is all Misty's doing. You're here in your mind, and I'm here in my mind, but we're both still back in your house in Viridian City."  
  
Misty nodded. "This is all practically a dream, except that I'm real and I'm here. How else could you be standing on your own after what happened to you six months ago?"  
  
"I guess you've got a point," Ash conceded, wincing a little at the memory of the bomb blast. "But why us? Why'd you choose to bring us here, Misty?"  
  
Misty shrugged. "I couldn't stop Tracey from hearing me, so I decided it was okay if he came along. And you can guess why I chose you," she said, grinning.  
  
Ash blushed deeper, but said nothing.  
  
"But all this isn't important," Misty continued. "I really did call you guys here for a reason." She looked more serious. "The spirit world is under attack."  
  
"Under attack? From who?" Tracey wondered.  
  
"From a legendary Pokémon called a Mechavian," Misty said. "It was created by Team Rocket, or at least the more intelligent ones. Here, I'll show you."  
  
The beach was suddenly a Team Rocket laboratory. The lights were turned down, but there was one thing brightly illuminated. It was something that the trainers recognized as a cloning tank.  
  
And there was something inside.  
  
It was about seventeen feet tall, and covered with silvery metallic feathers. A stripe of red ran down the edges of its wings and long tail. A ridge of red went from its beak down its back and up its belly. Even its claws were surrounded. Its wings seemed to burn with a corona of bright fire that somehow burned in the fluid of the cloning tank. It had a strange, dark silver shape on its stomach. It had black-ringed eyes, and talons like clamps. Each claw was similar to the end of a crowbar.  
  
It was basically a seventeen foot tall, mechanical-looking avian Pokémon. Mechanical avian. Hence the name, Mechavian.  
  
Tracey instantly took out his sketchpad and began to draw. He didn't say anything until his sketch was finished. Ash saw it over the Pokémon Watcher's shoulder, and noted that it didn't look half bad.  
  
Misty smiled. "One good reason for bringing you along," she said as the scene faded away. "You might be able to use that to plan your attack."  
  
"Wait wait wait, hold up," Ash said, putting up a hand. "OUR attack?"  
  
"Of course. That's why I came. We need your help to defeat Mechavian," Misty said.  
  
"But what can I do?" Ash asked. "Back in the real world, I'm stuck in a wheelchair! My dad's the boss of Team Rocket! My rival is a psychic who can read my mind! What am I supposed to be able to do? What will I gain from all this?"  
  
Misty stared into his eyes. "If we win, the Spirit World will grant me life again," she said. "I could be living, really living with you. And since they can do that, they will restore you to the way you were before the bomb blast."  
  
Ash and Tracey stared at the spirit of Misty in shock. They glanced at each other, then nodded simultaneously.  
  
"We'll do it," Ash said.  
  
"Just one thing," Tracey added. "Is it just gonna be the two of us, or do we let anyone else know about this?"  
  
Misty looked surprised. "Oh! I forgot!"  
  
She snapped her fingers, and two people appeared in front of her. Brock and Gary.  
  
"Aaaaaahhhhh! It's a ghost!" Brock instantly yelped when he saw the shimmering blue spirit.  
  
Gary, on the other hand, looked very calm and level-headed. Ash figured that he had a better grasp on the situation due to his very small amount of psychic powers that the Mew had given to him before its death. "Hello, Misty," he said over the wailing scream Brock was letting loose with.  
  
Misty glanced over at Brock and raised her hand. Brock shut up, and it looked like he didn't want to do it either. "I may be a ghost, but it's still me," she said to the stunned breeder-wannabe.  
  
Brock just stared as Misty filled him and Gary in on everything she had told Ash and Tracey so far. When she was done, Brock just shook his head in shock as if to try and clear it, then looked back up.  
  
"That is the strangest thing I've ever heard..." he said.  
  
"And it's all true," Gary added.  
  
"So now what?" Tracey wondered.  
  
"Mechavian is attacking our forces in two weeks," Misty said. She smiled. "I'm sure you've all heard of Battle Angels." Everyone nodded. "They're the ones training to fight Mechavian, but their powers aren't strong enough. That's where you guys come in."  
  
She turned to Tracey. "You're a Pokémon Watcher. You've learned how to draw everything perfectly the first time, making no mistakes at all. Your job will be to draw out battle plans and charts for the planning of the attack."  
  
She looked over at Gary. "Gary, I'm sure you've already figured out that your powers will be needed on this mission."  
  
Ash's former rival nodded. "Yes. I've got all my old Mew's powers, even though I haven't refined them as well as I'd like to yet."  
  
Misty glanced at Brock. "You used to be a Gym Leader," she said. "We need you to gather up all the strong trainers you've ever met, and try to bring in a few of the other Gym Leaders if you can."  
  
"And what about me?" Ash asked.  
  
Misty smiled. "You've been chosen to lead this entire mission."  
  
Ash's jaw dropped to the floor. "Me? You...you have got to be kidding. Me? I can't lead anything! I can't even walk, let alone charge into battle against a steel bird made by Team Rocket!"  
  
Misty smiled. "That's why my assistant has decided you will have new options available during this battle."  
  
Assistant? Ash was about to speak, but then Misty's assistant appeared on the sand in front of the group.  
  
"Heya buddy," the yellow creature said. "Long time no see, huh?"  
  
Ash stared in shock for a few seconds. Then he fell to his knees and grabbed his Pikachu, saying his name over and over and over. "Pikachu! I can't believe it's you!"  
  
It was almost too much for the young trainer to handle. First his girlfriend, then Pikachu. What else was just up around the corner?  
  
"As Misty was saying," Pikachu said once Ash let him go, "you're going to have new options for the battle. The spirit world has decided that you've been a good enough trainer all these years, and that it thinks you should get the special chance to know exactly what being a Pokémon feels like."  
  
It only took a second for that to sink in. "You mean...you'd turn me into a Pokémon?" he wondered. "But how can you do that?"  
  
Pikachu smiled. "Sorry. Trade secret."  
  
"Oh, yeah. Well, what Pokémon would you turn me into?" Ash asked.  
  
"You get to decide," Pikachu said. "Any Pokémon you want. You could be a Charizard, a Venusaur, a Blastoise, even a Mew. Any Pokémon you want."  
  
Ash considered that. "How long do I have to decide?"  
  
"You have to make your choice before we send you back to your world," Misty said. "Which, by the way, will have to be very soon. You've got five minutes, max."  
  
As she spoke, she pointed at Brock. A blue shimmer surrounded him, and he disappeared. "He's been sent back," Misty said. "He's got to get started on gathering those trainers."  
  
Ash thought about it as she transported Gary, and then Tracey. Once Misty, Pikachu and Ash were alone, Ash made his decision.  
  
  
Chapter Three  
Tracey woke up with a start, a faint blue glow fading from somewhere. He sat upright in a split second, looking down at the sketchpad in his hand. On the top sheet was the picture of a steel bird, with talons like clamps and fire raging around it.  
  
And then it all came back to him in a split second, the entire thing with Misty and Pikachu, and when they had spoken about Mechavian.  
  
"He's awake!" the Pokémon Watcher heard a voice exclaim. He looked over to see Professor Oak and Tracey's Scyther standing next to the couch he was lying on.  
  
Tracey realized that Misty had made it seem to everyone else as if they had just been sleeping. It looked like that was her only option for communicating to the mortal trainers.  
  
"Tracey, are you all right?" Oak asked. "You collapsed at about the same time Ash did, and then we couldn't get you to wake up no matter what we did! Scyther here almost had a heart attack."  
  
"I'm fine," Tracey said. He looked down at the sketchpad. Oak followed the young Pokémon Watcher's gaze to the near-perfect rendering of the metal avian.  
  
"WHAT in the world is THAT?" Oak demanded.  
  
"This is what we're going to be up against in two weeks," Tracey said. He hesitated, then went on. "Misty told us."  
  
"Misty told you what? Tracey, Misty is dead," Professor Oak said. "And what's this 'us' business?"  
  
Tracey was saved from having to answer when there was the sound of an explosion coming from upstairs. Smoke rolled down, but there was no fire.  
  
"What was that?" Tracey exclaimed, leaping up and running up the stairs.  
  
He skidded to a stop in front of Ash's bedroom, where the trainer had been carried after he lost unconsciousness. The Pokémon Watcher should have been prepared, but NOTHING could prepare him for what he saw when he looked into Ash's room.  
  
A blue streak leaped at the Pokémon Watcher, and slammed two small paws into his chest. Tracey went down hard on his back, and found himself staring up into the face of a blue doglike creature with two white, ribbony tails and a prism-shaped jewel on its forehead. It had a purple wavy mane-like thing coming back from its neck, that almost looked like waves in water.  
  
"Cune!" it yelped, and jumped out into the hallway.  
  
Tracey leaped up and charged after it. "Professor Oak, look out!" he yelled to the Pokémon Professor, who barely dodged the blue beast as it sailed down the stairs.  
  
"Suicune!" Oak exclaimed when he saw it. "That was a Suicune! But what was it doing in Ash's room?"  
  
Tracey skidded to a stop and glanced back in Ash's room. The trainer was nowhere to be seen. Which only left the Pokémon Watcher with one sensible idea of where he had gone.  
  
"Don't let it get away!" Tracey shouted, taking the steps two at a time. He threw himself after the water beast, and managed to grab one of its silvery-white tails.  
  
"SUIIII!" it screamed, tripping at the human's weight. It turned around and blindly tried to bite Tracey, its paws slipping on the floor. "SUIIII!"  
  
Tracey stared right back into the Suicune's eyes. "It's me!" he whispered. "Calm down! It's just me!"  
  
The Suicune stared blankly at him, then intelligence flooded into its eyes. "Suicune?" it asked, looking at its paws as if it had never seen them before.  
  
Which it hadn't. Because it wasn't a real Suicune. This Pokémon was actually the one Ash had chosen to become. The most powerful legendary dog.  
  
Tracey let go of the panicked dog, which by now he was pretty sure it was Ash. The Suicune looked at its paws for a few more seconds, and then looked up at Tracey.  
  
I guess it worked, Ash's voice said, coming from the shocked blue dog in front of the Pokémon Watcher. I'm not just imagining this, am I? I really am a Suicune?   
  
"As far as I can tell," Tracey said, still surprised. "What happened?"  
  
You where there when Pikachu said it, Ash reminded him. They offered me some new powers. In which this form was included. He smiled, which looked very strange on his Suicune face. I think I'm gonna stay like this for a while. It feels nice to walk on my own two...er, four...feet again.   
  
Professor Oak stared at the Pokémon Watcher and the Suicune, who were staring into each other's eyes with surprising intensity. Tracey spoke to the Suicune as if he was in conversation with it, but the Pokémon Professor couldn't hear the legendary dog saying anything.  
  
"Tracey? You can understand it?" Oak asked from the other side of the room.  
  
The Suicune looked over at him, a quizzical look on its face. Well of COURSE he can understand me! it shot back at him in Ash's voice.  
  
Professor Oak about had a heart attack. As it was, Scyther had to keep him from falling over in pure shock. And that's not easy when one's arms are actually two-foot blades.  
  
"Ash! You...you're a Suicune?" Oak stammered. "But...but...how?"  
  
I have no idea.   
  
  
Chapter Four  
Tracey and Ash filled in Oak on all that Misty and Pikachu had told them. It was almost too much for him to handle, but then he agreed to help research Mechavian and help plan the counterattack. They planned to keep it a secret from Ash's father, since Team Rocket had been in charge of creating the bird. He might decide they knew too much about this new secret weapon and shut down any attempt to oppose the steel bird.  
  
Brock made a broadcast on the TV later that day, announcing the situation and calling for any able Pokémon trainer to come to his Gym in Pewter City for a "Pokémon Tournament." It was just a cover story of course, the Rockets were everywhere, but the turnout was astounding, and a wide variety of Pokémon were represented, a good thing considering what they were up against.  
  
Gary came back from his training in the mountains to help prepare for the attack. He worked with Tracey and his sketches, and began planning for possible weaknesses the metal bird could have based on what he saw.  
  
Ash stayed as a Suicune 24/7, preferring to be as powerful as the legendary dog as much as he could. Plus the fact that he needed to learn how to control his new Pokémon abilities and attacks, and basically just get used to the feel of its form. Plus the fact that he was secretly happy to run around, even if it's on four feet instead of two.  
  
Ash streaked through the woods, leaping over fallen trees and boulders with ease. He dodged a giant Onix, and cut through the Electrode colony without any reaction from the electric Pokémon.  
  
"PIDGEOOOOOOOOT!"  
  
A huge Pidgeot dove down at the human-turned-legendary-dog, pulling up at the last possible second. Ash didn't miss a single step as he jumped onto the Pidgeot's back.  
  
The Pidgeot shot up into the air like a bullet, flying like it thought it was in the Air Force. Yeeeeeee-HAH! it crowed. I love this!   
  
Ash grinned. I can see why you picked Pidgeot, Tracey, he said to the enthusiastic Pidgeot.  
  
I'm just glad Misty let me have some special powers too, Tracey the Pidgeot said. After drawing all they needed, they really didn't have any need for a Pokémon Watcher. He smiled, how he did it with a beak was a mystery. Besides, I wasn't about to let you get all the glory.   
  
Ash laughed. Whatever. Should we run through the obstacle course again?   
  
Guys! Misty's voice cut in. You're supposed to be training!   
  
The shimmering blue figure of the deceased water trainer appeared in the air in front of them. She looked very annoyed.  
  
But I am, Misty, Ash objected. I'm just building up my speed in case I need to run fast when we're up against this Mechavian thing. Suicune is rumored to be all fast and everything, but it really isn't.   
  
Now Ash, I know you haven't been able to even walk for half a year, but running around on all four paws is a little extreme! Misty scolded him. Why don't you change back for a while?   
  
Ash glared at her. Now you look here, Misty, he said coldly. I never want to return to my human form again. Not until this mission is over. Do you have any idea what it's like to be stuck the way I was? Unable to walk anywhere, unable to actually be a Pokémon trainer anymore? You have no idea what it's like. No idea at all.   
  
The crystal on his Suicune forehead glowed bright blue, then he disappeared into thin air. Teleport, another special power Pikachu had given him.  
  
Tracey looked at Misty. Where'd he go?   
  
Home, Misty said. Or what used to be his home.   
  
Regret and pain filled her voice when she finished the sentence. Pallet Town.   
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Ash appeared in the ruins of what had been Pallet Town. He looked around sadly at the destruction; his house, Professor Oak's place, the place where he and Gary had been in a battle right before the bomb blast.  
  
As he stared around at what had once been the peaceful town of Pallet, he heard someone walking almost silently behind him.  
  
The Suicune spun around, preparing a Bubblebeam just in case whoever-it-was turned out to be unfriendly.  
  
"Easy Ash, it's just me," the familiar voice said. The tall trainer stepped out of the shadows and faced his former rival.  
  
What are you doing here? Ash asked Gary, powering down his attack. I didn't think anyone else would bother to come to our old hometown.   
  
"Probably the same reason you're here," Gary said. "To be alone and think. This all a bit much to absorb in a few days, isn't it?"  
  
Ash nodded, accepting the trainer's company. He sat down and looked up at the sky. The stars were just beginning to appear in the dark blue sky. I just wish I could have gone back in time and avoided all of this, he said.  
  
Before he could say anything else there was a whooshing sound, and the air around him turned a bright blue. There was the feeling of falling, and suddenly everything snapped back to normal.  
  
Well, almost normal.  
  
"Where are we?" Gary wondered, looking around.  
  
I have no idea, Ash said, startled.  
  
They were in the same place, in Pallet Town. All would have been fine except for the fact that their hometown was completely untouched, exactly the way it had been before the bomb had gone off. People were walking around the streets, and fortunately Ash and Gary were in the shadows of a tall tree so no one saw them.  
  
Ash cocked his head and listened hard. I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto, he said.  
  
"Really," Gary said sarcastically. "I couldn't tell."  
  
No, I'm serious, Ash said. He Teleported over to the rooftop of a building in a spot where no one could see him. Gary followed using his own Teleport power.  
  
Ash leaped from roof to roof, with Gary not far behind. He stopped at a two-story house on the edge of town, and dropped to the ground underneath a window.  
  
Gary, not being dumb enough to jump off a roof, Teleported down next to the seemingly frozen Suicune. "Are you okay?" he asked.  
  
Shh, Ash said. He looked through the window, and what he saw almost made him scream in shock.  
  
He was looking into his own house, in the living room. His mother and father were standing in there, and they were in a very heated argument.  
  
"I told you, I can't stay!" Giovanni Ketchum was shouting. "Team Rocket is really beginning to rise, and if I don't take advantage of that they could overpower us!"  
  
"But what about us?" Delia Ketchum demanded, almost in tears. "Is this Team Rocket more important to you than me? Or how about your son?"  
  
"No, he isn't!" Giovanni yelled. "That kid will never amount to anything! I bet he won't even be a Pokémon trainer! He's a disgrace to the entire Ketchum family! Either he goes, or I go!"  
  
Another movement caught Ash's eye. He turned to see a kid crouching at the top of the stairs, listening to the argument downstairs. The kid looked about six or seven years old, with messed-up black hair and brown eyes. He wore a Pokémon League Expo hat that was a bit too big for him, and he seemed very familiar to Ash.  
  
Probably because it was himself.  
  
  
Chapter Five  
Ash stared in complete shock at his younger self. Little Kid Ash didn't seem to notice the Suicune, seeing as he was completely focused on the argument of his parents.  
  
Ash remembered all this. He could remember every single bit of the argument. He could actually see, in his mind's eye, what had gone on from Little Ash's point of view.  
  
"That's you?" Gary whispered, looking at the little kid on the stairs.  
  
Ash nodded, still numb with shock. Almost seven years ago, he said. That was when my dad left. I...when I heard that, I knew I wanted to be a Pokémon trainer. I didn't want Dad to be disappointed in me. I wanted to be someone special, someone he could be proud of. I just wanted to make him happy... The former trainer trailed off, swiping a paw across his eyes to clear the tears streaming down his face. But then it all backfired, he said. I got into so much trouble growing up that Dad didn't even want to think about me anymore. He even sent Jessie and James after me for years, under the rumor that they were going to steal Pikachu. But what he really wanted was to make me look bad. Evidently it succeeded, because now look at me!   
  
Gary looked over at the Suicune that had been his rival. The former trainer was trying hard not to cry. "It isn't your fault," Gary said, knowing right away what was troubling him. "Your dad didn't leave because of you."  
  
No? Then how do you explain that? Ash asked, looking back at his arguing parents. Dad knew I was a nobody! He knew I would never be any good! He knew it right from the start. And now I've done nothing but made that image he had of me worse.   
  
He looked up at the younger version of himself, but didn't say anything. Finally he said, Let's get out of here. I don't want to see any more.   
  
Gary nodded, and Teleported away with Ash in tow. They appeared in Professor Oak's backyard, in the forest where Ash had been training earlier.  
  
"So what did we do anyway?" Gary asked, sitting down on a log. "How did we get here? It's basically Pallet Town of the past, only we're here."  
  
I don't know, Ash said. It happened right after I wished I could go back in time-   
  
He cut off abruptly, and looked at Gary. A look of understanding and frozen shock was on his face. That's it! he yelled.  
  
Gary nodded. "You said that you wished you could go back in time, and it happened."  
  
I wonder if it works the other way, Ash said. Then he said to himself, I wish I could go forward to where we left!   
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Hmm...I wonder why it didn't work this time, Ash said. It worked before fine, but now I can't do it. Maybe it only works one way.   
  
Gary looked a little frightened. "I hope not! Otherwise we'd have to live here for seven more years until Pallet Town is destroyed again and Mechavian comes."  
  
Now Ash was the one to look scared. Gary looked at him questioningly, keeping himself from reading the former trainer's thoughts. "What is it?"  
  
Gary, turn around... Ash said slowly.  
  
Gary did. When he saw what Ash was looking at, he too looked more than a bit panicked. There was someone watching them from the edge of the clearing.  
  
It was a little kid about the same age as Little Ash back in Pallet Town, only with spiky brown hair and a green-and-yellow ying-yang pendant around his neck. Gary recognized him right away.  
  
It was the Gary from the past.  
  
Future Gary stood up abruptly, causing Past Gary to jump a little. The six-year-old kid watched his future self in confusion. "Do I...know you?" he asked.  
  
"Sort of," Future Gary said.  
  
"What's that?" Past Gary asked, looking at Ash. "Is that a Pokémon?"  
  
"Yes, it is," Future Gary said before the human-turned-legendary could say anything. "It's my Pokémon, called a Suicune."  
  
Past Gary looked from the faux Suicune to his future self. "I'm going to be a Pokémon trainer someday," he declared. "And I'm gonna be the best!"  
  
Gary smiled a little. He sounds like you, he said psychically to Ash. Always wanting to be the best.   
  
Hey, that is you and not me, Ash answered. Now who's bragging?   
  
"You're new here, aren't you?" Past Gary asked. "I haven't seen you around town."  
  
"Actually, I'm just returning to Pallet Town after a long time of being away," Future Gary said. Well, it wasn't completely a lie. "You may not know me, but I know you. Known you all your life, in fact."  
  
Past Gary looked up at the tall trainer, a look of confusion on his face. "I DO know you, don't I?" he asked. "I don't know how, but I know you."  
  
Future Gary glanced at Ash. The Suicune shrugged. Might as well tell him, the former trainer said. He already knows too much. Besides, who's gonna believe a little kid?   
  
Gary had to agree. You're right. Besides, I can remember all this happening already. It really isn't altering the past. I think we were meant to be here.   
  
"Listen to me," Future Gary said to the little kid that was himself. "What I'm about to tell you, don't say to anyone else. Okay?"  
  
Past Gary nodded. "I can keep a secret! Now tell me!"  
  
Future Gary glanced at Ash again before going on. "I'm from the future," he said. "I traveled here somehow with this Su icune, and we're trying to find a way to get back."  
  
Past Gary nodded, not surprised in the least bit. He probably already believed in time travel and all that. "Okay. What're your names?"  
  
"His name is Ash Ketchum," Future Gary said, looking over at Ash. "Or his future self, at least." Past Gary looked a little shocked at that one, and looked like he was about to ask how. "We don't know how it happened exactly, and we can't tell you anyway," Future Gary said quickly.  
  
"Then who are you?" Past Gary asked, beginning to sound a little bit anxious.  
  
"My name is Gary Oak," Future Gary said, almost choking on the words. "I'm you, in the future."  
  
  
Chapter Six  
Truth to tell, the Gary of the past took it a lot better than the two trainers had expected him to. The six-year-old promised to not say anything to anyone, and decided to stay with the two boys for a while.  
  
"How come you're stuck here?" Past Gary asked. "Couldn't you just time-travel in reverse and go back to the future?"  
  
It doesn't work that way, Ash said, speaking directly to the little kid. Of course both Garys were the same person, so both of them heard it no matter what. I don't know why, but we already tried it and nothing happened.   
  
Future Gary nodded. "We have to figure out how to get back sometime soon. There's a battle coming up, and we need to be there to help win."  
  
"A Pokémon battle?"  
  
No, we mean a real battle, Ash said. Actual attacks, weapons, actual injuries. And when the battle is over, there will be people lying dead on the battlefield. He said it coldly, and both Garys flinched away from the Suicune's dark expression.  
  
Past Gary looked confused, as if wondering why Ash was so angry. Future Gary explained to him that Ash had lost two important people in his life already due to a crazy explosion caused by Team Rocket.  
  
Ash looked off into the sky as the two Garys talked. He completely ignored them, seeing as listening only reawakened the rage he felt at Jessie for causing Misty's death. Pikachu too, but he missed Misty the most.  
  
Finally the Garys finished summing up Ash's predicament, and Ash returned to the conversation. We don't want anything else to happen to our friends and family, Ash said to Past Gary. So we have to find a way back in time to help.   
  
"Maybe Grandpa can help!" Past Gary offered. "He's really smart. I bet he could figure out how to do it!"  
  
"No!" Future Gary said quickly. "It's a secret that we're here, remember?"  
  
Past Gary nodded reluctantly. "But then what do you want me to do?"  
  
The two trainers were saved from having to answer when a metallic-sounding screech reverberated through the forest. Then the sound of beating wings and roaring fire.  
  
Ash was in a battle stance, head low and crystal blazing, before he even knew it. Future Gary was likewise glowing with brilliant white psychic energy, and Past Gary was just plain scared.  
  
"Ash? Do you smell anything weird?" Future Gary asked the faux Suicune.  
  
Ash used his legendary dog sense of smell, taking in the scent of the forest. There was something mixed in with the usual natural smell, a bit of steel and burnt metal.  
  
His eyes flew open, and the crystal blazed even brighter. It's here! he hissed. It's HERE!   
  
Future Gary looked panicked. "But how can it be here already? Don't tell me it can time-travel like we can!"  
  
All right then, I won't tell you, Ash said in a bit of battle humor. And a quote from Brock when they had been lost in the woods once. Now what?   
  
"Get back to town," Future Gary warned Past Gary. "You don't want to be around when this Pokémon shows up."  
  
Past Gary took off like a shot, dashing for Pallet as fast as he could go. Ash called after him, And don't tell anyone about this! but the six-year-old was already gone.  
  
And with the crackling of massive fire energy and the screaming sound getting louder, a dark silver bird streaked overhead. A raging inferno surrounded it, singing the tops of the trees as it soared just inches away from the treetops.  
  
"Mechavian," Gary said, a chill going up his spine.  



	3. The Battle Begins

A/N: This chapter has a bit of stuff in it dealing with God and Satan, but nothing much. Just trying to make it fit in with the plotline. So if you aren't a Christian, don't give up on the fic or flame me to death. If you are and you find this religiously offensive, I apologize. I'm a Christian as well, and I just see this as the best way to go about integrating it into the story. Without it there would be no fic at all. So just tolerate it. If you like the fact that I found a way to fit religion in with Pokémon, thanks for the support! But for anyone else, just please endure it and I'll not mention it again. And now, back to the story.  
  
  
Chapter One  
"MECHA!" the steel bird screamed, glaring at the two glowing creatures that dared oppose it. "AVIAN!"  
  
"Go back to where you came from and no harm shall be done," Gary said, managing to sound calm and confident. "We don't want to have to fight you."  
  
Mechavian shook its intimidating head. "MECHAVI! AVIA MECHAI! MECHAVIAN MECH VIA!"  
  
Gary glanced at Ash. "What did it say?"  
  
It said, "I'll never go back! I will destroy this town and then the next, until I destroy this human world!" Ash reported. And I think it knows that it can very well do it, too.   
  
The steel bird glared at them, its stare seeming to burn holes right into the trainers' souls and see what they were thinking. "MECHAVIA!"  
  
Ash saw it first. Gary, it's powering up for an Aeroblast! he shouted, leaping at the metal bird. The crystal on his forehead flashed, and the legendary bird shrieked and fell back as the Icy Wind blew out of nowhere.  
  
"Ash, look out!" Gary shouted, throwing an orb of pure white psychic energy at the steel bird right before it would have fried Ash with a Flame Wheel attack.  
  
Now Mechavian was just plain mad. "MECHAVIAN!" it screamed, diving at the two friends on the ground. Gary ducked, but Ash could not dodge the steel talons that descended and clamped tightly around his back like a hawk carrying away its prey.  
  
It soared up into the sky, past Gary's psychic range. The red ridges that lined its entire body flashed deep crimson, and then Ash felt a strange tugging sensation.  
  
Too late, he realized what was happening. He tried desperately to reverse the effects, but it was too late by then.  
  
With a flash of bright blue, Ash reverted to human form again.  
  
"Ash, what are you doing?!" Gary shouted at the top of his lungs. "Why'd you change back to human?"  
  
"I didn't do it!" Ash shouted as Mechavian began to tighten its grip. "It made me change forms when it glowed like that!"  
  
"Hang in there!" Gary yelled, focusing hard. If he could focus hard enough to use any sort of levitating power, he could fly up and fight Mechavian in its element.  
  
"Hurry!" Ash screamed as the talons began to crush the air out of him.  
  
Gary succeeded in levitating a little, and gained altitude quickly once he got the hang of it. He readied his psychic attack, ready to blast Mechavian out of the sky.  
  
Ash was beginning to see red. He knew the steel bird was trying to kill him by crushing him in half or suffocating him. Maybe even both at once.  
  
Gary was only a few feet away when Mechavian noticed him. It whirled around and tightened its grip on its prize, squeezing the life out of him.  
  
Ash's last conscious thought was, "I wish I could go back home." Then he blacked out.  
  
  
Chapter Two  
Tracey, still in Pidgeot mode, soared into Oak's new lab. Is Ash back yet? he demanded to the Pokémon Professor.  
  
"No, he isn't," Oak said. "Neither is Gary. How long have they been gone?"  
  
About five hours, Tracey said as he landed on the floor and switched forms to human. "I searched all of the ruins of Pallet Town and didn't see them anywhere. Misty's currently looking in the Viridian Forest, and Pikachu's still searching through the Pallet Woods. Where could they have gone? It's as if they just disappeared..."  
  
There was a blinding red flash from outside, and a sonicboom shook the lab. Ceiling tiles fell, Pokéballs spilled out on the floor, and Tracey was nearly positive that something had exploded again.  
  
"MECHA!" a metallic voice screamed outside, and there was the roar of a raging fire.  
  
Tracey stared out the window in terror. "Professor!" he yelled. "PROFESSOR!"  
  
Oak ran to see what Tracey was so horrified about. When he saw it he stood stock-still and nearly screamed in panic. "It's here!" he whispered hoarsely.  
  
Outside, flying over the Viridian Forest, was a seventeen-foot-tall steel bird with fire blazing around it. It screamed again in the metallic voice, shaking the ground.  
  
Mechavian was in Viridian City, two weeks early.  
  
A cloaked figure flitted around the created legendary bird, glowing with pure white energy. It seemed to be trying to get something away from Mechavian without harming it.  
  
"That's Gary!" Oak yelled. "He's levitating and attacking Mechavian! But where did he come from? Where did Mechavian come from?"  
  
"Professor, look!" Tracey shouted, pointing to the steel bird. Or rather, what it was carrying in its talons. "That's Ash! And he's in human form again!"  
  
"Get out there, now!" Oak ordered. "Try to get Ash away from that thing! I'll call Pewter Gym and get Brock's trainees out here, fast! Call Misty and Pikachu in! And see if they can get some of those 'Battle Angels' to come along too!"  
  
Tracey immediately changed to Pidgeot form and streaked out the window towards the huge steel bird and the two humans. Misty, Pikachu! he called to the two spirits. Ash and Gary are back, and Mechavian is in Viridian! Repeat: MECHAVIAN IS IN VIRIDIAN!   
  
Instantly, Misty and Pikachu appeared next to the soaring human-turned-Pidgeot. It's too early for Mechavian to be here, though! Misty pointed out. We had two weeks to prepare!   
  
I'm not sure how he did it, but I think Ash managed to screw things up again, Pikachu said. I'll fetch the Battle Angels. You two get Ash down to the ground and away from that bird! Go go go!   
  
Pikachu vanished in a green flash. The Pidgeot and the shimmering blue spirit were left with only one choice of action.  
  
Attack! Misty yelled as she shot towards the legendary like a bullet fired from an anti-tank missle launcher.  
  
Wait for me! Tracey yelled, increasing speed to somewhere near Mach One, only half speed for Pidgeots.  
  
Misty appeared right next to Gary, who was charged up with bright psychic power. "Thanks for finally arriving!" he yelled to her. "We've got a problem here!"  
  
No, really? Tracey said sarcastically as he zoomed into battle mode. What happened...never mind, tell us later. Let's just get this thing away from the city!   
  
"MECHA!" Mechavian screeched, a circle of dual aerial energy gathering in front of its beak.  
  
"Look out, it's gonna fire!" Gary yelled.  
  
Tracey veered off the attack, away from the Aeroblast. The beam passed harmlessly by, went right through Misty without her even noticing, and then nailed Gary dead-on.  
  
Gary! Misty and Tracey yelled simultaneously as the psychic trainer disappeared into the raging white beam of avian power.  
  
Get Ash while it's distracted! Gary's psychic voice clearly rang out from the center of the whiteness, startling them.  
  
Tracey immediately whirled around and streaked in, going just under Mach Two. He raked his talons forward, skimmed along Mechavian's underside, and snatched at the unconscious teenager in its claws. He felt talons close around Ash's shirt, and yanked hard.  
  
Mechavian, taken by surprise, let Ash go. Tracey hauled wing out of there as fast as he could, carrying the former trainer away from the massive steel bird.  
  
"MECHAVI!" it screeched once it saw that Ash was gone. It stopped using Aeroblast, and the white beam faded away. Gary hovered there, surrounded by a blinding shield of white psychic energy. And he didn't look very happy, or hurt.  
  
"Where are those Battle Angels?" Gary yelled to Misty.  
  
On the way! Pikachu yelled, swooping down to the small attack force they had managed to put together. Behind him flew fifty human angels, all armed with fiery swords. Each was accompanied by a Pokémon of any kind, all powered up with a strange energy. A hundred all together.  
  
Mechavian stared at the attack force arrayed against it. Then it threw its head back and laughed, a strange screeching noise that surprised everyone. [You think you have me outnumbered,] it said in the Pokémon language. [But I too have allies! Battle Demons, arise!]  
  
Out of nowhere, fifty dark-cloaked humans appeared, armed with black swords. Each was accompanied by a Dark-type Pokémon, all surrounded by an evil red glow. That made a hundred of those "Battle Demons" against the one hundred Battle Angels.  
  
Tracey, get out of here! Misty yelled to the Pidgeot. He had been struggling to stay aloft while carrying Ash in his talons. The poor kid looked like he'd been crushed by having a bus thrown on him, and was out cold.  
  
Tracey began to fly away, towards Oak's new lab. Mechavian saw the Pidgeot trying to escape, and instantly shouted, [Battle Demons! Get that Pokémon!]  
  
A hundred heads turned in Tracey's direction. Tracey glanced over his shoulder and saw the dark Pokémon starting to come after him.  
  
Uh-oh, he said.  
  
Gary soared across the path of the Battle Demons, temporarily blocking them from reaching Tracey and his unconscious passanger.  
  
Go! he yelled psychically, throwing an orb of psychic energy at the Battle Demons.  
  
I'm gone, baby! Tracey said in a mock-hippee accent, hauling tail out of there. Of all the times to get funny...  
  
As soon as the Pidgeot was out of sight, the Battle Angels charged the Battle Demons. The humans used their supernatural swords to fight, and the Pokémon battled each other using light and dark attacks.  
  
Misty found herself face-to-face with another spirit, this one on Mechavian's side. The new spirit looked like a girl of seventeen, with long red hair and a white Team Rocket uniform. The spirit sneered at Misty.  
  
Hello there, little girl, she said nastily.  
  
Jessie! Misty snarled.  
  
  
Chapter Three  
While all this was going on outside, Oak was yelling over the telephone for all the help he could think of. Brock and his trainees were already on the way from Pewter, all the Jennys in the area had been alerted, and all the local Pokémon Centers were on full alert. There would most definately be wounded people and Pokémon as long as Mechavian soared the skies.  
  
"No, this is not a joke!" Oak yelled at the Gym Leader on the other end. "There is a Team Rocket-engineered legendary bird on the loose in Viridian City, and it's on a rampage! You have to alert all the other Gym Leaders and get them out here now!"  
  
"Yeah right," the young Gym Leader said. He sounded unconvinced. He was Falkner's replacement after the Pallet Town Bombing, and obviously hadn't been in the Gym long. Otherwise he would have known how famous and important Oak was to the entire Pokémon world. "And why should I believe you?"  
  
Oak opened his mouth to answer when the wall abruptly fell in. Dust clouded the room, and an evil red glow came from the hole in the wall.  
  
When the dust cleared, a reddish human spirit glared at the Pokémon Professor. Then it leaped into the air and soared into combat with a blue spirit that was coming to confront it.  
  
The Gym Leader, who's name was Corey, had gone completely pale. He opened his mouth and closed it a few times, unable to say anything.  
  
Outside, the giant metal bird soared past the opening in Oak's lab wall. In clear sight of the Gym Leader on the videophone. "Now do you believe me?" Oak demanded.  
  
"I'll call them up immediately!" Corey said at last. The connection was cut off as the Gym Leader knocked over the videophone in his panic to find the other Gym telephone numbers.  
  
Professor! Tracey's thought-speak voice yelled.  
  
Oak turned around and saw the Pidgeot soaring through where the wall had been. He grasped an unconscious teenager in his talons, and laid him gently on the floor.  
  
Oak ran to Ash's side. "What happened to him?" he asked Tracey. "He looks like he's been run over by a bus."  
  
Mechavian sure has a tight grip, Tracey said. Evidently it generates some sort of field that counters Ash's transforming powers, and changed him back to human. Then it tried to crush him to death. Fortunately I got him away quickly, though. Otherwise he'd be dead by now.   
  
Oak was about to ask more, but then there was the sound of beating wings. Listening closer, Oak could make out five different birdlike calls.  
  
The five legendary birds streaked overhead, heading for Mechavian. Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Ho-oh kept going. But Lugia split off and turned towards Oak's lab.  
  
I thought you might want some help! Lugia called as it approached. So I whistled up all the legendary birds, as well as a friend of Ash's!   
  
A gray and purple shape blasted overhead, trailing a bright blue light. It slowed down a bit as it got near the metal bird, clearly letting anyone nearby see what it was.  
  
I don't think so, Mechavian! it shouted to the steel bird. *I'm* the only Rocket-engineered clone allowed to attempt world domination! And you won't, not while I'm around!   
  
It glanced over in the direction of Oak's lab, and flicked a hand.  
  
Ash's eyes flew open, and the look on his face stopped Oak and Tracey from even breathing. "MEWTWO!" Ash practically screamed in shock. "IT'S BACK!"  
  
Even from a half a city away, the Battle Angels could hear him clearly. So could the swiftly approaching group of trainers from the Pewter City Gym. As for Mewtwo, he was definately getting a major headache after releasing the trainer's memories of the New Island incident.  
  
Lugia landed right outside Oak's lab, and looked in as Ash calmed down. The teenager winced as he finally felt the pain from his crushed ribs, and he coughed. "Ouch," he said. "What happened?"  
  
Mechavian almost killed you, Tracey said. I think you'd better go back to Suicune mode. It should be uninjured from the attack since you were hurt while in human form.   
  
Ash nodded, and with a flash of blue he was the water legendary dog again. He stood up, and looked out at the raging battle. All right, how did Mechavian get in Viridian City? he demanded. The last thing I remember was time-traveling with Gary and being attacked by that steel bird in Pallet of seven years ago. Then it changed me back to human and I blacked out.   
  
You *time-traveled*? Tracey exclaimed.  
  
You must join the battle, Lugia said. The Battle Angels need your help. Especially Misty. She has encountered an unexpected old enemy.   
  
And who would that be? Ash asked, a chill going up his Suicune spine.  
  
A Jessie Musashi, Lugia said. Known to you as Jessie from Team Rocket, the destroyer of Pallet Town.   
  
  
Chapter Four  
Jessie sneered at Misty, who just stared in shock at being confronted by the spirit of their old archrival. Jessie looked basically like Misty did; shimmery and transparent, only the former Rocket glowed with red instead of blue.  
  
I guess that bomb killed you too, Jessie said, ignoring the battle that had begun to rage around her. She laughed, a harsh, cold sound. And that twerp is out of the action permenantly. Because you'll never win against Mechavian! He gets his orders from my boss directly!   
  
'Her boss?' Misty wondered. 'Does she mean Giovanni? No, she's dead so she can't be in Team Rocket anymore. But then who...?'  
  
It hit her like a slap in the face. If God was her boss in this battle, then Jessie' boss had to be Satan. The two had always been fighting for power, and God was always above the Devil. But that wouldn't stop that demon from wrecking the Earth with Mechavian at his command. Knowing him, Misty figured that he had given the Rockets the directions to create Mechavian and then destroy the witnesses.  
  
"MECHA!" Mechavian screamed, blasting past the two spirits. It plowed into a battalion of Battle Angels and they scattered. Some looked hurt.  
  
I thought angels couldn't get hurt! Gary said psychically to Misty as he dodged a Battle Demon's sword swing. What's going on?   
  
If it's from a demon they can be injured! Misty yelled back. So watch out! Those swords are nasty if a mortal gets in its way!   
  
Gary glanced at her, and then the shimmering blue spirit saw the smoking hole on the shoulder of his cloak. As you can see, I've already found that out, he said in battle humor. Luckily these powers come with pain supression-WHOA! He dodged another sword swing, then brought a glowing fist into the Battle Demon's face. Then while the dark spirit was distracted, he lunged in and snatched away the black sword. As soon as it left the Battle Demon's hand, it changed so it looked exactly like the blades the Battle Angels were weilding.  
  
HAH! Got one! he crowed, diving into the fray.  
  
Misty looked back at Jessie, and zoomed backwards in midair just in time to avoid being impaled on a black blade that had somehow appeared in Jessie's hand.  
  
Misty held her hand to her side and a blazing green sword appeared. She raised it to the en garde position, and mock-saluted the red spirit that had once been Jessie.  
  
Lets begin, Jessie said, crossing her black sword over Misty's. The blades crackled on impact, and then the two lunged at each other with blades flashing and spirit powers blazing.  
  
  
Chapter Five  
Tracey took off into the sky, soaring into the fray above Viridian yet again. Ash bounded across the grass, leaped onto Lugia's back, and the two streaked into the sky.  
  
Ash temporarily switched to human mode, finding it easier to hold onto Lugia's neck feathers with just his hands rather than trying to stand on the legendary bird's back as a Suicune. He tranformation hadn't completely healed his broken ribs, but he could somehow dull the pain to tolerable levels. And it had been several days since he had last stayed as a human for a while.  
  
'I wish I could fly like Lugia does,' Ash thought as they approached the paranormal battle.  
  
There was a strange sensation of falling, and Ash held tight to Lugia's neck to keep himself from getting too dizzy. When it stopped he opened his eyes and looked at his hands.  
  
They were paws again. But not delicate Suicune paws. No, these were the rough broad front paws of an Entei, the fire legendary dog.  
  
Startled, Ash looked himself over. Sure enough, he was an Entei. Complete with winglike appendages on his back that would allow him to fly if he tried hard enough.  
  
'I thought Misty and Pikachu only gave me one choice of transformation...' he thought, stunned. 'What happened? Did I do this myself?'  
  
Lugia arched its long neck around to look at him. What did you do? it asked, puzzled. I thought you could only become a Suicune.   
  
"So did I," Ash said, accidentally speaking out loud. He slapped a paw to his Entei muzzle as he heard the deep, booming roar of the legendary dog *speaking in English!* "Did I say that?"  
  
How in the world did you manage to look like *that*? Lugia asked.  
  
Ash looked at himself closer. He seemed to be an Entei, but there were some differences. For one, his front paws were more like hands. For another, he could walk on his hind legs like a human or all fours like an Entei. And lastly, because he could still speak in regular human language. "I...I don't know," Ash stammered, still startled to hear the deeper voice coming from his mouth. "I just did it, somehow."  
  
Then he looked up at the raging battle, and he got a strange expression on his face. "Charge!" he yelled, laughing, and leaped off of Lugia's back.  
  
A thousand feet up in the air, and he wasn't falling! Ash had spread the winglike things on his Entei back, which caught the air and let him soar into the sky.  
  
"Yeah!" he yelled, and released a Flamethrower into a group of Battle Demons. They screamed and scattered, but a Houndoom spirit absorbed the rest of the attack into itself and fired it back.  
  
Ash countered it with a Fire Spin. The Houndoom was blown back by the force of the impact, not by the attack itself. It roared in frustration and zoomed in at the flying legendary dog, using Crunch on his arm.  
  
Out of reflex Ash roared, and the Houndoom reeled away in extreme pain. After only a few seconds of the onslaught, the dark spirit vanished. Either killed or just on its way back to where it came from.  
  
"Murkrow!" another Pokémon screamed behind him, darting in. It had some kind of freakish spirit attack all powered up, and it was too close for Ash to deflect!  
  
There was a HUGE green flash, and suddenly the dark Pokémon screamed and dropped out of sight. One of the Murkrow's wings had been cut off.  
  
That's when Ash noticed what the green flash had been. It was a blazing spirit sword, held by none other than Gary himself. The psychic trainer twirled the fiery sword in his hand in an expert manner, and looked over at Ash. "How the heck did you manage *that*?" Gary asked.  
  
"Stop asking me that," Ash growled in his new voice. "I don't know, and if you don't then no one does. And in case you haven't noticed, we *are* in the middle of a battle here."  
  
Gary nodded in agreement, slashing at a red Battle Demon that was charging at him. The spirit countered with its own black sword, and sparks flew.  
  
"Where are those trainers?" Ash thought, looking around. "They should be here by now..."  
  
That's when he saw why. Mechavian had landed on the ground, towering over a group of trainers. Brock himself was pinned to the ground by Mechavian's long whiplike tail.  
  
"Lugia!" Ash called, and within seconds the legendary bird was next to him. Ash landed on its back and switched back to human, hanging on tight. "Get us down there quick! Brock's in trouble!"  
  
Lugia went into a steep dive, and as they approached Ash made another transformation.  
  
Mechavian was just about to kill Brock and his trainers when a huge Thunderbolt came out of nowhere and struck it. It screamed in pain, the bird part of it weak against electricity.  
  
"RAIKOU!" the yellow legendary dog shouted as it landed on the ground. Lugia swooped overhead alone, heading back for the spirit battle.  
  
The Raikou bit Mechavian on the tail, and it screeched. Mechavian pulled back, and Brock was free from the pressure of the steel bird's tail.  
  
"I thought you might want some help," the Raikou said in an electric-sounding voice as it reared up onto its hind legs. Brock and all the trainer stared at it in shock, and it grinned.  
  
"Ash?" Brock said cautiously.  
  
The Raikou switched to a humanoid Entei form, then a humanoid Suicune, and back to humanoid Raikou. It winked. "Yep," he said. "And before you ask how, I don't know. I just *can*."  
  
Brock nodded, and turned to his trainers. "All right, we're here and so is that bird! Release your Pokémon and begin the battle!"  
  
All the trainers released their Pokémon, and there was every type of Pokémon represented. There were Fearows, Raichus, Machamps, Charizards, and pretty much anything you could imagine. There was even some bizarre-looking electric dragon that looked like a cross between a Tyranitar, a Dragonite, and an Electabuzz.  
  
Ho-oh flew overhead chasing a group of five Battle Demons. The legendary bird released a Sacred Fire attack, and the three of the demons disappeared. The other two were taken care of by Articuno, who swooped down and used an Ice Beam.  
  
Mechavian had recovered from Ash's Bite attack, and now it looked just plain mad. It powered up for another Aeroblast, ready to annihilate all the trainers opposing it.  
  
"ZZZZZZZAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!" a screeching birdlike voice shouted, and a bolt of lightning hit the steel bird before it could fire. The Aeroblast passed harmlessly into the sky, and Zapdos screeched another challange.  
  
[Battle of the birds!] Moltres laughed in the Pokémon language as it appeared next to the other three. Lugia, soaring high overhead in the center of the battle, plowed through the red spirits and joined the force of legendary birds against Mechavian.  
  
Mechavian looked at all the birds, then screeched and took to the sky. But before it could get very far, its path was blocked by a gray and purple figure that didn't look too happy. At its side was a white-pink catlike Pokémon that glowed with bright pink energy.  
  
"Mew and Mewtwo!" Ash yelled, scaring everybody. "Both of them are here?"  
  
"What're you talking about?" Brock asked, confused. Mewtwo hadn't released the mind block on Brock yet, just Ash. And when Misty had died Mewtwo had no control over her memories anymore, so she already knew about the psychic Pokémon.  
  
"Never mind," Ash said. Then he changed into a different humanoid Pokémon. Now he was a fifteen-foot-tall Lugia.  
  
Just then, three streaks of red, yellow, and blue came rushing from the forest. One seemed to sail above the ground. One moved like a flash flood. The other looked like lightning.  
  
It seemed that the legendary dogs had gotten wind of the battle, and decided to help out. The fight had been rowdy before.  
  
Now it was going nuclear.  
  
  
Chapter Six  
Misty and Jessie swordfought for a long time. Both were equal in strength and skill, so neither one was hurt at all. Every now and then Gary would fly by, chasing another Battle Demon with his blazing spirit sword that he had stolen from a demon spirit.  
  
At one point in the battle Misty thought she saw a flying Entei that looked vaguely like Ash, but dismissed it seeing as she was a bit busy at the time.  
  
But things began to get *really* interesting when a Fearow showed up, with a blue-haired trainer on its back with a Meowth on his shoulder. "Prepare for trouble!" he shouted at the red spirit that had been Jessie.  
  
Jessie froze in mid-swing, her black blade motionless. "James?"  
  
"Meowth, dat's right!" Meowth said.  
  
"Jessie, you have to stop," James said as his Fearow flew closer. "You know this isn't right. You aren't a Rocket anymore. If you keep going the way you are, you'll be destroyed completely instead of just a spirit."  
  
Jessie hesitated. "But what else can I do?"  
  
"You can turn and fight Mechavian," Misty said, lowering her blazing sword. "You can fight with us, against the Battle Demons. You could be a Battle *Angel*. What do you say?"  
  
Jessie thought about it for about five seconds. Then her sword changed from black to green, and the glow around her became a bright blue. Her face no longer had that evil look. Instead it shone with radiance that only angels have.  
  
"I'm going to fight with you," she said.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Mechavian glared at all the legendaries surrounding it, then laughed. [You know you'll never stop me,] it said in the Pokémon language. [Legendary power only boosts my energy! I am unbeatable!]  
  
"That's what you think!" Ash yelled through his black beak, his voice sounding vaguely musical. A faint blue aura had started to gather around him. "This is my hometown and you'll never destroy it!"  
  
Mechavian just laughed more. [Little fool. I have been engineered to be undefeatable in combat! You cannot resist my power and live!]  
  
"My son can withstand anything you throw at him!" Giovanni's voice yelled out of nowhere. Everyone spun around to see him standing at the edge of the legendary ring, looking furious.  
  
"Dad! You didn't have any part in this?" Ash asked.  
  
"Of course not!" Giovanni Ketchum said, glaring at Mechavian. "This bird was created by a rogue group of Rockets named Cassidy and Butch! They broke off from Team Rocket as soon as they found out the so-called 'Twerp,' namely you, was in fact my son. And with the help of unmentionable powers, they created this Mechavian creature and set it free upon the world!"  
  
"What happened to them, then?" Ash wondered out loud.  
  
Mechavian smiled evilly. [I destroyed them, just as Mewtwo did with his creators*]  
  
Giovanni's black look got even darker. He had a look of barely-contained rage firected towards the steel bird in front of him. "You will pay for that," he said coldly. "I'll destroy you with my bare hands if I need to!"  
  
[You and what army?] Mechavian demanded.  
  
"Me and my powers!" Giovanni shouted, shifting into a fighting stance. There was a flash of white and suddenly he was a humanoid Persian, already in battle mode.  
  
Ash was staring at his father in shock. Giovanni had just transformed in the exact same way that Ash could, and Ash hadn't known he could do that!  
  
Giovanni saw Ash's startled expression and winked. "It runs in the family," he said simply, then looked back at the steel bird. "Will you surrender or not?"  
  
In response, Mechavian gathered power for another Aeroblast. The dual aerial energy began to appear in front of its beak.  
  
It fired the Aeroblast straight at Giovanni, intending to kill him instantly and then take out the rest of the legendaries.  
  
It never got that far.  
  
A white blur dashed in front of the attack, trailing bright blue energy everywhere. The Aeroblast impacted the swiftly-moving creature directly on the side, and it slowed down.  
  
The white blur stopped and panted hard, balancing itself on its wingtips. The blue psychic energy faded into a light blue shield around its body as it glared at the steel bird. "Don't try that again," Ash said in his Lugia voice. "I'll just protect my father again."  
  
"Cats kill birds all the time, don't they?" Giovanni said, leaping at Mechavian with catlike agility. He Fury Swiped across the steel bird's face, then bit its right wing. Mechavian screamed in pain.  
  
Suddenly the air was filled with red spirits, what was left of Mechavian's army. Some had "died" in battle, others were simply caught up in swordfights with the Battle Angels. But either way, they were ready to defend their leader Pokémon.  
  
"Uh-oh," Ash said.  
  
  
Chapter Seven  
No sooner had Misty and Jessie made their peace, all the red spirits disappeared. They all reappeared over the Viridian Forest, surrounding Mechavian and its opponents. Misty could see Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Lugia, Ho-oh, Raikou, Suicune, Entei, Mew, Mewtwo, and what looked an awful lot like a humanoid Lugia next to a Persian-human.  
  
All Battle Angels, follow me! Pikachu yelled, brandishing his own blazing sword as he flew towards the mass of spirits and legendaries.  
  
All of the remaining Battle Angels turned and followed the yellow mouse, flying as fast as their angel wings would take them. Some even had the opportunity to use a strange variation of Teleport.  
  
"Mew!" Gary yelled, and suddenly the pink catlike Pokémon was next to him. He hugged the Pokémon spirit and stroked its fur, tears running down his face. "I thought I'd never see you again, dead or alive," he babbled to the Mew spirit.  
  
"Mewmew," Mew murmured, wrapping its tail around Gary's shoulders. I'm sorry you had to go through that, it said, the first time anyone had ever heard it use thought-speak. But at least I saved all the Pokémon from that town you lived in."  
  
"That you did, Mew," Gary said. He calmed down a little, and got serious again. "Mew, let's go. One last battle for old time's sake."  
  
Mew nodded. "Mew!"  
  
"And speaking of Mew..." a new voice said from behind Jessie and Misty. The two spirits turned, and Jessie gasped in surprise.  
  
"M-mother?" she stammered.  
  
"It's been an awful long time, Jessie," Myamoto's spirit said. The former Rocket glowed true blue, and was followed by a white Mew spirit. The same Mew that she had been after when she had died in the avalanche. It looked almost comical, hovering there like it always did with the same playful look on its face mixed with seriousness of knowing its mission and its consequences.  
  
"Ladies, I hate to interrupt a family conversation but we're kind of in the middle of a small-scale war here!" James interrupted after telling his Fearow where to fly next. Meowth was already powering up for a TM-taught attack called Pay Day. He had never been able to learn it by himself, and somehow after the Pallet Town Bombing James had found a TM hidden in all the rubble of Oak's lab. Oak didn't want it anymore so he had given it to the ex-Rocket, and he had taught it to Meowth.  
  
"Right," the three spirits agreed. Gary didn't add in any comments because, as Misty noticed a split second later, he was already gone. Teleported all the way over to where Mechavian and the legendaries were gathered, ringed by Battle Demons and Battle Angels.  
  
"Let's go!" Misty yelled, materializing over to the battalion of Battle Demons. Jessie followed a moment later using her own spirit powers.  
  
James steered his Fearow over towards the group of spirits, and yelled to Meowth, "Pay Day now!"  
  
"Meeeowth!" Meowth yelled, making a throwing motion with his paws. Dozens of coins appeared out of nowhere, pelting Mechavian's head.  
  
The steel bird looked up in annoyance, and saw the Fearow and its riders. A dark look crossed its face, and a dual aerial energy circle appeared in front of its face again.  
  
"Oops," James said.  



	4. No Turning Back

Chapter One  
"Sui!"  
  
"Rai!"  
  
"Tei!"  
  
The three legendary dogs tackled Mechavian, and the Aeroblast disappeared. Giovanni leaped in and swiped with his claws again, using his Slash attack.  
  
"MECHAAAAAA!" the steel bird screeched, throwing the legendaries off it. Raikou managed to land on its feet about twenty feet away, a long slash along its side. Suicune slid on its back in the dirt, finally stopping and then it slowly stood up. Entei, unfortunately, had hit a tree and was instantly unconscious. Giovanni was lucky enough that he had been a Persian, otherwise he wouldn't have landed right and would have died for sure.  
  
"ZAAAAAP!"  
  
"ARRRRR!"  
  
"MOLLLLLT!"  
  
The three legendary birds fired their specialized attacks. Articuno's Icebeam froze the fire on Mechavian's left wing. Moltres' Flamethrower melted the steel ridges along Mechavian's tail. Zapdos' Thunder attack electrocuted Mechavian, paralyzing it.  
  
Ho-oh screeched, and used a Sacred Fire attack. The Mechavian vanished into a cloud of smoke.  
  
"GGGGGIIIIIAAAAAAAA!" Lugia yelled, and a bright blue beam lanced out of its eyes into the smoke. There was another metallic screech that let everyone know that the Psybeam had hit home.  
  
Ash thought everything was under control. This was it. Mechavian was finally defeated.  
  
Or was it?  
  
Suddenly there was a flare of bright red and yellow fire, and it swept out across everything in a wave. The remaining two legendary dogs were knocked out by the force of it, and the main three legendary birds crashed to the ground. Ho-oh staggered, and screamed in pain.  
  
Ash felt the raging inferno bite into him, burning away feathers and skin. He howled through his beak, a strange haunting sound. He instinctively surrounded himself by a cyclone of water. Lugia was doing the same.  
  
Gary, who was the closest to the fireball, was tossed backwards by the force of the blast. He panicked and stopped levitating, but it didn't matter anyway. He slammed into a tree, and immediately everything went dark.  
  
Misty and Jessie managed to surround themselves and many of the nearby spirits with a shield of some sort, protecting James as well. But many Battle Demons and Battle Angels alike were destroyed by the raging fireball that Mechavian was launching. So were most of the trainers in Brock's group.  
  
"MMMMMEEEEEEEECCCCCCHHHHHHHAAAAAAAA!"  
  
The steel bird, burning even brighter than before, streaked out of the smoke. Fully recovered from the supposively destructive blasts, it was assulting the Viridian Force again!  
  
The fire stopped, and Ash dropped his water shield. As the tornado disappeared, he could see the destruction in a huge circle all around the area. The entire forest and part of the city had been demolished in the force of Mechavian's attack. Most of the trainers from Brock's group were dead, but no one could see where Brock had gone. He had either escaped the attack or had been completely annihilated.  
  
Ash, this has to stop! Mewtwo yelled as he appeared next to him. That Mechavian creature is too powerful, even as strong as I!   
  
A blackened Pidgeot stumbled up to the two legendaries. It looked up at Ash and coughed. Wow, Mechavian sure packs one heck of a punch, don't it? the Pidgeot said.  
  
It was Tracey. Somehow, he had survived the attack with minor injuries. Minor being relative, of course. As they looked around, all the survivors were glad that they hadn't been unluckier than they were.  
  
Ash looked at Mechavian, which was staring back at him. Suddenly he felt a click in his mind, and voluntarily switched to human form. But before he could even *think* about moving, he focused on something else and made another "wish."  
  
Mechavian about fainted, when it found itself face-to-face with another legendary bird. Ash grinned at him around his clamp-like beak and his wings flared.  
  
"MECHAVIAN!" Ash screeched.  
  
  
Chapter Two  
'Anything I've seen long enough...' Ash thought. 'I can become whatever Pokémon I've seen before, as long as I hear that mental click...'  
  
*FLASH!  
  
I stood on the top of the hill, staring down into a pool of water. There was a brightly-glowing blue doglike Pokémon standing on a small island. It turned and looked at me, and time seemed to stand still. There was a ticking sound in the back of my mind, and then time moved forward again. The creature bounded off into the woods, out of sight...  
  
FLASH!  
  
The fire dog Pokémon roared, the evil look in its eyes scaring me a little. Even though I was on the back of a Charizard, I felt unsecure.  
  
Entei stared into my eyes, and the battle seemed to stop. A sound of roaring wind this time, and then time resumed and so did the battle...  
  
FLASH!  
  
Brock, Misty and I were running from a storm. The rain was already pouring, so we took shelter under a large rock.  
  
I scanned the darkness, and saw the outline of a strange doglike creature watching me back. A bolt of lightning lit up behind it, casting the black shadow across the ground.  
  
The trio is complete, a voice said, and there was the sound of booming thunder. I felt dizzy for a second, then forced it back. Nothing had happened, and the creature was gone anyway...  
  
FLASH!  
  
Riding on the back of Lugia, feeling the wind whip through my hair, I felt a strange sensation. As if once again, time had halted. I heard four clicks as the trio of birds flew slowly in front of me, and most of Lugia's head filled my vision. I was getting annoyed, this was the FOURTH time something like this had happened to me! But what if it was important somehow? What if...  
  
FLASH!*  
  
Ash looked at Mechavian. The memories had played in less than a second, but he had seen each in exact detail. Somehow, whenenver he had seen those Pokémon he had scanned their forms and taken them into himself. The power had been waiting, locked up until he had figured out how to use it.  
  
The last memory, the one with Lugia. Had he scanned the forms of all four birds at once? How could he do that anyway?  
  
Mechavian screeched to the remaining Battle Demons, in another order to attack!  
  
'No time to wonder,' Ash reprimanded himself, then Tackled Mechavian. It sqwawked in surprise, going down hard on its back.  
  
In a split second, Ash took in the status of the battle. Left on the Mechavian assult force there were about twenty Battle Demons and five dark Pokémon, and of course the steel bird itself. On the Viridian Force they had Mewtwo, the two Mew spirits, Myamoto, Misty, Jessie, James, Tracey, three more Battle Angels, Giovanni, Pikachu, and two legendary birds. Ho-oh was badly burned though, and so was Tracey. All of Brock's trainees had been killed, as well as many of the spirits. The legendary trios of dogs and birds had been knocked out, and so had Gary. Brock himself was nowhere to be seen.  
  
Mechavian bit Ash's right wing, ignoring the flames. He screamed and thrashed, but Mechavian's clamp-like beak held on tight.  
  
Ash's wings flared up, and the fire rammed right into Mechavian's face. Now it was the steel bird's turn to scream, but it wouldn't let go.  
  
Ash! Lugia yelled, going into a dive towards Mechavian.  
  
"Mewmew!" Gary's Mew yelled, streaking off into the woods towards its fallen master.  
  
"MEW!" Myamoto's Mew shouted for it to stop, but it wouldn't.  
  
EVERYONE GET BACK! a booming psychic voice shouted from the direction of where Gary's Mew had gone. IT'S ABOUT TO BE PALLET TOWN ALL OVER AGAIN!   
  
Everyone on Ash's team instantly hit the dirt, and the legendary Pokémon surrounded themselves with their own elemental shields. Ash had just enough time to throw Mechavian off him and duck behind a rock when a huge white explosion came from what was left of the woods.  
  
Mechavian screamed in the intense pain as the psychic explosion plowed into it. It could feel its steel feathers melting under the terrible heat, and its metal ridges caught fire!  
  
It screamed again as another wave of white overtook it. All the Battle Demons dissolved into the blast of psychic power.  
  
Misty and Jessie had quickly gathered the remaining spirits and humans, and were projecting a shield around them all. Lugia was trying to shield the legendary creatures, and Mewtwo was helping. Ash could only duck behind the huge rock and hope it wouldn't break.  
  
Finally the white fire died, and everyone looked in shock and the lump of melted steel that had once been Mechavian.  
  
  
Chapter Three  
For a long moment, no one moved. Then Ash began to laugh. That set the two Mews off, and soon everyone was laughing.  
  
We did it! Ash crowed. We *did it*!   
  
A group of Gym Leaders, arriving too late, ran up. They looked mad that the battle was over already, meaning they wouldn't get the chance to fight the Rocket-engineered legendary.  
  
Brock was with them. He looked like he'd been on the recieving end of a Flamethrower, but other than that he was fine.  
  
Tracey, still a Pidgeot, switched back to human after a moment and immediately began to sketch everything he could remember. This only made the Mews laugh harder, which in turn made everyone else barely able to stand all the humor in the air.  
  
"James!"  
  
Jessie dropped into James' arms from the sky, and he caught her as she solidified into a living human being again. She had paid back the evil she had caused in Pallet Town, and had earned her life back. They hugged each other fiercely, which made Meowth's eyes water with tears of joy for his reunited companions. Myamoto smiled, then she and her Mew faded away into the Spirit World again.  
  
An utterly exhausted Gary stepped out of the focus of the white blast, the last vestiges of psychic power rippling around him. His Mew abruptly stopped laughing and bolted for its master, becoming more and more real the entire time. When it reached Gary, it was all the way Mew and no longer a spirit. Gary smiled and stroked the Mew's soft fur, then set it on its favorite spot on his right shoulder.  
  
Giovanni helped a Nurse Joy revive the legendary creatures, and before you could say "Venusaur" they were all disappeared. Every one except Lugia, Mewtwo, and Gary's Mew.  
  
"Ash!" Misty yelled in her true voice as she landed on the ground about thirty feet away from him. Her coloring became brighter, her sword vanished and she was no longer transparent. She ran towards Ash, her feet flying across the ground almost exactly like when she had been a spirit.  
  
Ash changed back to human just in time to catch the excited girl, and out of the blue she kissed him. He kissed her back, not even noticing that he was standing on his own.  
  
Ash and Misty's kiss was interrupted by a rather loud cry of "Pikapi!" and suddenly Ash had an ecstatic yellow mouse on his right shoulder.  
  
Well done, Lugia said. Ash looked up to see the silvery bird towering over him, smiling at the corners of its beak. We have defeated another evil in the world of Pokémon.   
  
Mewtwo was looking a bit forlorn, out of place. He shot Ash an apologetic look, then Teleported away to his valley. Ash watched him go. 'Probably feeling nervous with all the humans around,' he figured. 'Oh well. He'll be back. I just know it.'  
  
I must be going as well, Lugia said as he flapped his wings and took off. I hope to see you again, although I hope it will be under better circumstances than this meeting.   
  
Ash laughed. "Me too. See ya later, Lugia!"  
  
The group of trainers looked around at the complete destruction around them. Most of Viridian City was gone, and all of the forest had burned down. The only building left standing anywhere around was, ironically, Oak's new laboratory. Completely untouched.  
  
That's when Ash noticed a small green fairy creature hovering above the lab roof. It was just dropping a shield of some sort from around Oak's lab. It looked up at the astonished trainer, winked, and disappeared.  
  
"Come on, kiddo," Misty said, tugging on Ash's hat brim. "We've got some work to do."  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: Well, it's almost over! The epilogue will be up shortly, which will lead into the next story in the End Of The Line miniseries! I have absolutely no idea how long this saga will be, but the second book is already in the works. Please R&R, and stick around so you don't miss the conclusion to The End Of The Line book 1!  



	5. Epilogue

Epilogue  
"Come on, Mist! They're waitin' for us!"  
  
"Wait up!" Misty yelled as she ran after her boyfriend. He only laughed and transformed into a Rapidash, the fastest runner in the entire world of Pokémon. "Hey, that's no fair!" Misty continued to shout. "Just because you're half-Ditto doesn't mean you have to make fun of me!"  
  
Ash laughed in thought-speak as he remembered the explaination his father had given him for their transformation powers. As Boss of Team Rocket, Giovanni had experimented with giving humans the Pokémon attacks and such. He had willingly taken the risk and given himself the Ditto's Transform attack, which had somehow fused with his regular human DNA instead of fading away after a few weeks like it was supposed to. That was before Ash had been born, so his son had inherited the Transform attack as well. A priviledge Ash liked to use to pick on Misty.  
  
Misty managed to grab his flaming tail, which startled Ash so much that he slowed down for a second. It was just long enough for Misty to swing up onto his Rapidash back and get a better grip on his mane. Once she was there, that was where she stayed.  
  
Ash considered trying to get her off, but decided against it. After all, the teasing and games was behind them. I knew you were going to do that, he said instead. Hang on tight!  
  
He streaked through the Cerulean Forest, and leaped over the waiting group of trainers. He skidded to a stop, turned around, and walked back. After letting Misty off, he changed back to human.  
  
"I tought you'd never get here," Gary said. His Mew, perched on his shoulder, murmured "Mewmew" in agreement. Gary patted it on the head, and then looked towards his friends for an explaination.  
  
"Misty was just getting reunited with her Pokémon," Ash said. "They were very happy to see her."  
  
"By the way, I believe this belongs to you," Brock said as he handed Misty a Pokéball. She looked at it curiously, then opened it.  
  
"Togi? Preee!"  
  
"Togepi!" Misty yelled, scooping up her baby Pokémon into her arms like she always did. "I take it this is one of the rewards for defeating Mechavian?" she asked through tears of joy.  
  
Tracey nodded. "And there's more than just Togepi and Gary's Mew. Aside from you, Misty. We're also being allowed to keep ALL of our special powers!"  
  
"Meaning he can become a Pidgeot," Giovanni said. "Ash and Gary can still Teleport, and Gary is being GIVEN psychic powers as a compensation for the fact that his Mew seems to have taken its powers back. Jessie and Misty also have many of their spirit powers, like the flying ability that all ghosts seem to have. And then there's also Ash's special reward."  
  
Ash grinned. "Still not quite used to it, either. After six months, it's kinda hard to get used to being able to run around and stuff like I did before."  
  
"And all that hiking we always did," Misty added.  
  
"Well, is that everything we need to know?" Ash asked.  
  
Gary looked at the piece of paper in his hand. "Actually, no. It seems that while Mechavian was causing chaos here, there was ANOTHER attack at the same time on the Indigo Plateau. The note only says this: 'Attack on Elite Four by unknown legendary Pokémon. Seems to be a legendary dog. Defeated, but devestated the Plateau. Send backup.' And then it stops."  
  
"Well gang, it looks like we're on call again," Ash said as he transformed into a Lugia. "Let's get going!"  
  
  
THE END! How'd you like it? This is probably my longest fic ever. Yes, there IS a sequal that directly continues this story. It's called Pokémon: Revelations. This story was already completed when I posted it, so I split it into four parts plus the epilogue and then split each part into several chapters. Revelations will be posted under a different 'topic' for each part, and the chapters will be uploaded seperately, since it is still a fic in progress. So keep your eyes out for Pokémon: Revelations, and don't forget to R&R!  
  
For those of you impatient enough to flame me, please hold back. Here's a preview of what you will be facing if you stick through Pokémon: Revelations...  
  
  
  
-----------------  
  
"Guys! There it is!" Brock yelled from atop Onix's head.  
  
The entire army looked ahead. There it was, the Indigo Plateau. Looking exactly like it had those years ago when Ash and Gary had competed in the Kanto League.  
  
Well, almost exactly like it. If you didn't count the fact that the Stadium was simply...gone. Great clouds of smoke hung in the air, and everything for a mile around was scorched or destroyed...  
  
~~~~~  
  
The quiet was shattered by a howl from directly in front of them. The campfire in the clearing where everyone else was instantly became nothing but ashes, thanks to a quick-thinking Misty and her Staryu.  
  
Ash and Giovanni stared at where the howl had come from, listening hard. There was no sound for a long time, and they began to think they had imagined it.  
  
But then the cry rose again, an eerie shriek of rage and evil. "DEEEEMOOOOONDOOOOOOOG...!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
Gary was in the middle of a hazy red fire. It ate away at his skin like acid, making his blood turn to steam. He tried to scream, but couldn't make a sound. He tried to move, but it was as if he was paralyzed.  
  
"Enjoying yourself, Gary?"  
  
He blinked back the red haze in his eyes to see the familiar steel head in front of his face. It sneered at him. "I'm sure you are happy going through what you did to me."  
  
*No...no, not him! I killed him!*  
  
"You only thought I died, mortal. That was not my true form! Fool! You never killed me! I am no mere mortal!" it taunted.  
  
*No...please...leave me alone...*  
  
"Why should I? You refused to stay out of my way, why should I move for you?" it sneered. "Puny, stupid human. By now you must realize that you are doomed. You will lay here and die. The world will be mine...!"  
  
~~~~~  
  
"Master Demondog wants to settle this fight the old-fashioned way," Cassidy said. "Two champions from each side decide the battle."  
  
"Master Demondog has chosen us as his champions," Butch said, running a finger along the edge of the sword that he held. It was almost sharp enough to cut a ghost. "Choose yours."  
  
There was a flash of blue light, and the fully-recovered human form of Ash stood a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. He said nothing, but gave them a glare that made everyone flinch away from his gaze.  
  
Wordlessly, a Pidgeot stood at his side. Everyone gasped at the two unlikely champions. Ash and Tracey, taking on two fully-trained Battle Demons by themselves? They were crazy!  
  
Cassidy and Butch exchanged an evil grin. "We'll make ground hamburger out of those two," Butch said, twirling his sword.  
  
"I'll take the little twerp," Cassidy said, raising her sword to the salute position.  
  
"Ash! You're gonna get KILLED out there!" Misty yelled, but her boyfriend ignored her completely. Instead, he began to transform into Suicune. She turned to the Pidgeot instead. "Tracey! Don't you understand it's futile to fight them? You'll die!" It was as if the two boys were deaf. They didn't hear a word she said and if they did, they didn't show it.  
  
High above the clearing, the five legendary birds perched on Lawrence's flying fortress. James and Meowth on Fearow landed next to them, watching the scene with worry plastered on their faces. Celebi blinked into existance next to the Pokémon Collector himself, startling him quite a bit. But he ignored the fairy, as was necessary.  
  
The entire Viridian Army held its breath as the four stepped into the center, prepared for battle...  
  
~~~~~  
  
Brock woke up, head spinning. How did I get out here? he wondered stupidly, looking up at the starry sky. And where's Misty and Ash?  
  
Suddenly, he remembered everything. The battle, the challange, the evacuation...  
  
He yelled an unrepeatable word and sat bolt upright. Only then did he feel the searing pain in his left leg. *Crap, it's broke,* he assessed it. *Well, it looks like I'm not going anywhere.*  
  
[No, I don't believe you are,] the familiar, metallic voice said. Brock went pale at the sound.  
  
*No...not him!*  
  
[Yes it's me, Brock Slate. I trust you remember me?]  
  
*Flashback*  
  
Pain...searing hot pain. Spikes impaling him, tearing down towards his heart. Going in for the kill...the evil silver-and-black stare, the maniacal laugh.  
  
Despair...he was going to die.  
  
"No."  
  
[You are mine, Brock Slate.]  
  
"No...please..."  
  
[You will die now, human. And I shall capture your soul, and you will forever be my slave.]  
  
"NO!"  
  
*End Flashback*  
  
"NO!" Brock screamed, feeling the icy spears of the spirit plunge into him. "Get out of me!"  
  
The same insane laugh ensued from the dark spirit. [I believe I'll take a new form, one that will be trusted among humans. And I have chosen my target.]  
  
"NNNNNNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"  



	6. Regarding the sequel

Okay, so I shouldn't have mentioned the sequel. Pokemon: Revelations died by part three, and under mysterious circumstances. I wanted to write it so badly, but for some reason it kept being deleted or corrupted on my computer. I eventually got fed up with it and deleted it.  
  
However, I still have quite a bit written. It ends on a cliffhanger, and if you want to see it, I'll post it.  
  
Any takers?  
  
~ ~ ~ ~ ~  
  
Oh, and a note to MistyMew: Yeah, I know he seemed indifferent to Pikachu dying, but it wasn't an original part of the plot. Hell, I wasn't even planning on bringing Misty back OR paralyzing Ash. This was originally going to be a darkfic where the bombing of Pallet Town pushes Ash over the edge into insanity, and he consequently becomes a sociopath and tries to kill everyone. But I digress. (I do that a lot. ^_~) So yeah, Ash's reaction to Pikachu's death was just thrown in on impulse, with no real planning. *shrugs* Sorry. 


End file.
